Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) depot at Newton Heath.[17] The team initially played games against other departments and railway companies, but on 20 November 1880, they competed in their first recorded match; wearing the colours of the railway company – green and gold – they were defeated 6–0 by Bolton Wanderers' reserve team.[18] By 1888, the club had become a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league. Following the league's dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance, which ran for three seasons before being merged with The Football League. This resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the "LYR" from its name.[17] After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division.[17]

The Manchester United team at the start of the 1905–06 season, in which they were runners-up in the Second Division

In January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £290,000 in 2020[nb 1] – the club was served with a winding-up order.[19] Captain Harry Stafford found four local businessmen, including John Henry Davies (who became club president), each willing to invest £500 in return for a direct interest in running the club and who subsequently changed the name;[20] on 24 April 1902, Manchester United was officially born.[21][nb 2] Under Ernest Mangnall, who assumed managerial duties in 1903, the team finished as Second Division runners-up in 1906 and secured promotion to the First Division, which they won in 1908 – the club's first league title. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield[22] and ended with the club's first FA Cup title. Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City.[23]

In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, where it remained until regaining promotion in 1925. Relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Following the death of principal benefactor John Henry Davies in October 1927, the club's finances deteriorated to the extent that Manchester United would likely have gone bankrupt had it not been for James W. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000 and assumed control of the club.[24] In the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division.[24]

The Busby Babes in Denmark in 1955

In October 1945, the impending resumption of football led to the managerial appointment of Matt Busby, who demanded an unprecedented level of control over team selection, player transfers and training sessions.[25] Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947, 1948 and 1949, and to FA Cup victory in 1948. In 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years.[26] They then won back-to-back league titles in 1956 and 1957; the squad, who had an average age of 22, were nicknamed "the Busby Babes" by the media, a testament to Busby's faith in his youth players.[27] In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season.[28] En route to the semi-final, which they lost to Real Madrid, the team recorded a 10–0 victory over Belgian champions Anderlecht, which remains the club's biggest victory on record.[29]

A plaque at Old Trafford in memory of those who died in the Munich air disaster, including players' names

The following season, on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final victory against Red Star Belgrade, the aircraft carrying the Manchester United players, officials and journalists crashed while attempting to take off after refuelling in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed 23 lives, including those of eight players – Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan – and injured several more.[30][31]

Manchester United (1963)

Assistant manager Jimmy Murphy took over as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries and the club's makeshift side reached the FA Cup final, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers. In recognition of the team's tragedy, UEFA invited the club to compete in the 1958–59 European Cup alongside eventual League champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite approval from The Football Association, The Football League determined that the club should not enter the competition, since it had not qualified.[32][33] Busby rebuilt the team through the 1960s by signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand, who combined with the next generation of youth players – including George Best – to win the FA Cup in 1963. The following season, they finished second in the league, then won the title in 1965 and 1967. In 1968, Manchester United became the first English (and second British) club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in the final[34] with a team that contained three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best.[35] They then represented Europe in the 1968 Intercontinental Cup against Estudiantes of Argentina, but lost the tie after losing the first leg in Buenos Aires, before a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford three weeks later. Busby resigned as manager in 1969 before being replaced by the reserve team coach, former Manchester United player Wilf McGuinness.[36]

Bryan Robson was the captain of Manchester United for 12 years, longer than any other player.[37]

Following an eighth-place finish in the 1969–70 season and a poor start to the 1970–71 season, Busby was persuaded to temporarily resume managerial duties, and McGuinness returned to his position as reserve team coach. In June 1971, Frank O'Farrell was appointed as manager, but lasted less than 18 months before being replaced by Tommy Docherty in December 1972.[38] Docherty saved Manchester United from relegation that season, only to see them relegated in 1974; by that time the trio of Best, Law, and Charlton had left the club.[34] The team won promotion at the first attempt and reached the FA Cup final in 1976, but were beaten by Southampton. They reached the final again in 1977, beating Liverpool 2–1. Docherty was dismissed shortly afterwards, following the revelation of his affair with the club physiotherapist's wife.[36][39]

Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977. Despite major signings, including Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey, and Ray Wilkins, the team failed to achieve any significant results; they finished in the top two in 1979–80 and lost to Arsenal in the 1979 FA Cup Final. Sexton was dismissed in 1981, even though the team won the last seven games under his direction.[40] He was replaced by Ron Atkinson, who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion. Under Atkinson, Manchester United won the FA Cup twice in three years – in 1983 and 1985. In 1985–86, after 13 wins and two draws in its first 15 matches, the club was favourite to win the league, but finished in fourth place. The following season, with the club in danger of relegation by November, Atkinson was dismissed.[41]

Alex Ferguson managed the team between 1986 and 2013.

Alex Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox arrived from Aberdeen on the day of Atkinson's dismissal,[42] and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league.[43] Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the club was back in 11th place the following season.[44] Reportedly on the verge of being dismissed, victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final replay (after a 3–3 draw) saved Ferguson's career.[45][46] The following season, Manchester United claimed its first Cup Winners' Cup title and competed in the 1991 UEFA Super Cup, beating European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 in the final at Old Trafford. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance followed in 1992, in which the team beat Nottingham Forest 1–0 at Wembley.[41] In 1993, the club won its first league title since 1967, and a year later, for the first time since 1957, it won a second consecutive title – alongside the FA Cup – to complete the first "Double" in the club's history.[41] United then became the first English club to do the Double twice when they won both competitions again in 1995–96,[47] before retaining the league title once more in 1996–97 with a game to spare.[48]

Front three: Manchester United's treble medals of the 1998–99 season are displayed at the club's museum.

In the 1998–99 season, Manchester United became the first team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League – "The Treble" – in the same season.[49] Losing 1–0 going into injury time in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored late goals to claim a dramatic victory over Bayern Munich, in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks of all time.[50] The club also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo.[51] Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.[52]

Ryan Giggs is the most decorated player in English football history.[53]

Manchester United won the league again in the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons. The team finished third in 2001–02, before regaining the title in 2002–03.[54] They won the 2003–04 FA Cup, beating Millwall 3–0 in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to lift the trophy for a record 11th time.[55] In the 2005–06 season, Manchester United failed to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade,[56] but recovered to secure a second-place league finish and victory over Wigan Athletic in the 2006 Football League Cup Final. The club regained the Premier League in the 2006–07 season, before completing the European double in 2007–08 with a 6–5 penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final in Moscow to go with their 17th English league title. Ryan Giggs made a record 759th appearance for the club in that game, overtaking previous record holder Bobby Charlton.[57] In December 2008, the club won the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup and followed this with the 2008–09 Football League Cup, and its third successive Premier League title.[58][59] That summer, Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid for a world record £80 million.[60] In 2010, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 at Wembley to retain the League Cup, its first successful defence of a knockout cup competition.[61]

After finishing as runner-up to Chelsea in the 2009–10 season, United achieved a record 19th league title in 2010–11, securing the championship with a 1–1 away draw against Blackburn Rovers on 14 May 2011.[62] This was extended to 20 league titles in 2012–13, securing the championship with a 3–0 home win against Aston Villa on 22 April 2013.[63]

On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced that he was to retire as manager at the end of the football season, but would remain at the club as a director and club ambassador.[64][65] The club announced the next day that Everton manager David Moyes would replace him from 1 July, having signed a six-year contract.[66][67][68] Ryan Giggs took over as interim player-manager 10 months later, on 22 April 2014, when Moyes was sacked after a poor season in which the club failed to defend their Premier League title and failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1995–96.[69] They also failed to qualify for the Europa League, meaning that it was the first time Manchester United had not qualified for a European competition since 1990.[70] On 19 May 2014, it was confirmed that Louis van Gaal would replace Moyes as Manchester United manager on a three-year deal, with Giggs as his assistant.[71] Malcolm Glazer, the patriarch of the Glazer family that owns the club, died on 28 May 2014.[72]

Although Van Gaal's first season saw United once again qualify for the Champions League through a fourth-place finish in the Premier League, his second season saw United go out of the same tournament in the group stage.[73] United also fell behind in the title race for the third consecutive season, finishing in 5th place, in spite of several expensive signings during Van Gaal's tenure. However, that same season, Manchester United won the FA Cup for a 12th time, this being their first trophy won since 2013.[74] Despite this victory, Van Gaal was sacked as manager just two days later,[75] with José Mourinho appointed in his place on 27 May, signing a three-year contract.[76] That season, United finished in sixth place while winning the EFL Cup for the fifth time and the Europa League for the first time, as well as the FA Community Shield for a record 21st time in Mourinho's first competitive match in charge.[77] Despite not finishing in the top four, United qualified for the Champions League through their Europa League win. Wayne Rooney scored his 250th goal with United, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton as United's all-time top scorer, before leaving the club at the end of the season to return to Everton. Mourinho was sacked on 18 December 2018 with United in sixth place, 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool and 11 points outside the Champions League places.[78] Former United player and manager of the Norwegian side Molde, Ole Gunnar Solskjær was appointed caretaker manager the next day.[79] On 28 March 2019, following a run of 14 wins in his 19 matches in charge, including knocking Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League in the round of 16 after losing the first leg 2–0, Solskjær was appointed permanently on a three-year deal.[80]

1879–1880, 1896–1902

1880–1887

1887–1893

1893–1894

1894–1896

1902–1920, 1921–1922, 1927–1934, 1934–1960, 1971–2018, 2019–present[EN]

1920–1921, 1963–1971

1922–1927

1934

1960–1963 (1997–2018, 2019–present)[EU]

2018–2019

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manchester United F.C. kits.

Notes

Newton Heath initially played on a field on North Road, close to the railway yard; the original capacity was about 12,000, but club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club hoping to join The Football League.[94] Some expansion took place in 1887, and in 1891, Newton Heath used its minimal financial reserves to purchase two grandstands, each able to hold 1,000 spectators.[95] Although attendances were not recorded for many of the earliest matches at North Road, the highest documented attendance was approximately 15,000 for a First Division match against Sunderland on 4 March 1893.[96] A similar attendance was also recorded for a friendly match against Gorton Villa on 5 September 1889.[97]

In June 1893, after the club was evicted from North Road by its owners, Manchester Deans and Canons, who felt it was inappropriate for the club to charge an entry fee to the ground, secretary A. H. Albut procured the use of the Bank Street ground in Clayton.[98] It initially had no stands, by the start of the 1893–94 season, two had been built; one spanning the full length of the pitch on one side and the other behind the goal at the "Bradford end". At the opposite end, the "Clayton end", the ground had been "built up, thousands thus being provided for".[98] Newton Heath's first league match at Bank Street was played against Burnley on 1 September 1893, when 10,000 people saw Alf Farman score a hat-trick, Newton Heath's only goals in a 3–2 win. The remaining stands were completed for the following league game against Nottingham Forest three weeks later.[98] In October 1895, before the visit of Manchester City, the club purchased a 2,000-capacity stand from the Broughton Rangers rugby league club, and put up another stand on the "reserved side" (as distinct from the "popular side"). However, weather restricted the attendance for the Manchester City match to just 12,000.[99]

When the Bank Street ground was temporarily closed by bailiffs in 1902, club captain Harry Stafford raised enough money to pay for the club's next away game at Bristol City and found a temporary ground at Harpurhey for the next reserves game against Padiham.[100] Following financial investment, new club president John Henry Davies paid £500 for the erection of a new 1,000-seat stand at Bank Street.[101] Within four years, the stadium had cover on all four sides, as well as the ability to hold approximately 50,000 spectators, some of whom could watch from the viewing gallery atop the Main Stand.[101]

Following Manchester United's first league title in 1908 and the FA Cup a year later, it was decided that Bank Street was too restrictive for Davies' ambition;[101] in February 1909, six weeks before the club's first FA Cup title, Old Trafford was named as the home of Manchester United, following the purchase of land for around £60,000. Architect Archibald Leitch was given a budget of £30,000 for construction; original plans called for seating capacity of 100,000, though budget constraints forced a revision to 77,000. The building was constructed by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester. The stadium's record attendance was registered on 25 March 1939, when an FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town drew 76,962 spectators.[102]

Bombing in the Second World War destroyed much of the stadium; the central tunnel in the South Stand was all that remained of that quarter. After the war, the club received compensation from the War Damage Commission in the amount of £22,278. While reconstruction took place, the team played its "home" games at Manchester City's Maine Road ground; Manchester United was charged £5,000 per year, plus a nominal percentage of gate receipts.[103] Later improvements included the addition of roofs, first to the Stretford End and then to the North and East Stands. The roofs were supported by pillars that obstructed many fans' views, and they were eventually replaced with a cantilevered structure. The Stretford End was the last stand to receive a cantilevered roof, completed in time for the 1993–94 season.[36] First used on 25 March 1957 and costing £40,000, four 180-foot (55 m) pylons were erected, each housing 54 individual floodlights. These were dismantled in 1987 and replaced by a lighting system embedded in the roof of each stand, which remains in use today.[104]

The Taylor Report's requirement for an all-seater stadium lowered capacity at Old Trafford to around 44,000 by 1993. In 1995, the North Stand was redeveloped into three tiers, restoring capacity to approximately 55,000. At the end of the 1998–99 season, second tiers were added to the East and West Stands, raising capacity to around 67,000, and between July 2005 and May 2006, 8,000 more seats were added via second tiers in the north-west and north-east quadrants. Part of the new seating was used for the first time on 26 March 2006, when an attendance of 69,070 became a new Premier League record.[105] The record was pushed steadily upwards before reaching its peak on 31 March 2007, when 76,098 spectators saw Manchester United beat Blackburn Rovers 4–1, with just 114 seats (0.15 per cent of the total capacity of 76,212) unoccupied.[106] In 2009, reorganisation of the seating resulted in a reduction of capacity by 255 to 75,957.[107][108] Manchester United has the second highest average attendance of European football clubs only behind Borussia Dortmund.[109][110][111]

Manchester United has rivalries with Arsenal, Leeds United, Liverpool, and Manchester City, against whom they contest the Manchester derby.[118][119]

Cristiano Ronaldo on the ball in a 2009 Premier League game between Manchester United and Liverpool

The rivalry with Liverpool is rooted in competition between the cities during the Industrial Revolution when Manchester was famous for its textile industry while Liverpool was a major port.[120] The two clubs are the most successful English teams in both domestic and international competitions; and between them they have won 38 league titles, 9 European Cups, 4 UEFA Cups, 5 UEFA Super Cups, 19 FA Cups, 13 League Cups, 2 FIFA Club World Cups, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 36 FA Community Shields.[5][121][122] It is considered to be one of the biggest rivalries in the football world and is considered the most famous fixture in English football.[123][124][125][126][127]

The "Roses Rivalry" with Leeds stems from the Wars of the Roses, fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, with Manchester United representing Lancashire and Leeds representing Yorkshire.[128]

The rivalry with Arsenal arises from the numerous times the two teams, as well as managers Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, have battled for the Premier League title. With 33 titles between them (20 for Manchester United, 13 for Arsenal) this fixture has become known as one of the finest Premier League match-ups in history.[129][130]

In an initial five-year deal worth £500,000, Sharp Electronics became the club's first shirt sponsor at the beginning of the 1982–83 season, a relationship that lasted until the end of the 1999–2000 season, when Vodafone agreed a four-year, £30 million deal.[142] Vodafone agreed to pay £36 million to extend the deal by four years, but after two seasons triggered a break clause in order to concentrate on its sponsorship of the Champions League.[142]

To commence at the start of the 2006–07 season, American insurance corporation AIG agreed a four-year £56.5 million deal which in September 2006 became the most valuable in the world.[143][144] At the beginning of the 2010–11 season, American reinsurance company Aon became the club's principal sponsor in a four-year deal reputed to be worth approximately £80 million, making it the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deal in football history.[145] Manchester United announced their first training kit sponsor in August 2011, agreeing a four-year deal with DHL reported to be worth £40 million; it is believed to be the first instance of training kit sponsorship in English football.[146][147] The DHL contract lasted for over a year before the club bought back the contract in October 2012, although they remained the club's official logistics partner.[148] The contract for the training kit sponsorship was then sold to Aon in April 2013 for a deal worth £180 million over eight years, which also included purchasing the naming rights for the Trafford Training Centre.[149]

The club's first kit manufacturer was Umbro, until a five-year deal was agreed with Admiral Sportswear in 1975.[150] Adidas received the contract in 1980,[151] before Umbro started a second spell in 1992.[152] Umbro's sponsorship lasted for ten years, followed by Nike's record-breaking £302.9 million deal that lasted until 2015; 3.8 million replica shirts were sold in the first 22 months with the company.[153][154] In addition to Nike and Chevrolet, the club also has several lower-level "platinum" sponsors, including Aon and Budweiser.[155]

On 30 July 2012, United signed a seven-year deal with American automotive corporation General Motors, which replaced Aon as the shirt sponsor from the 2014–15 season. The new $80m-a-year shirt deal is worth $559m over seven years and features the logo of General Motors brand Chevrolet.[156][157] Nike announced that they would not renew their kit supply deal with Manchester United after the 2014–15 season, citing rising costs.[158][159] Since the start of the 2015–16 season, Adidas has manufactured Manchester United's kit as part of a world-record 10-year deal worth a minimum of £750 million.[160][161] Plumbing products manufacturer Kohler became the club's first sleeve sponsor ahead of the 2018–19 season.[162]

As of 4 February 2020[185][186]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK David de Gea 2 DF Victor Lindelöf 3 DF Eric Bailly 4 DF Phil Jones 5 DF Harry Maguire (captain)[187] 6 MF Paul Pogba 8 MF Juan Mata 9 FW Anthony Martial 10 FW Marcus Rashford 13 GK Lee Grant 14 MF Jesse Lingard 15 MF Andreas Pereira 17 MF Fred 18 MF Bruno Fernandes 20 DF Diogo Dalot

No. Position Player 21 MF Daniel James 22 GK Sergio Romero 23 DF Luke Shaw 24 DF Timothy Fosu-Mensah 25 FW Odion Ighalo (on loan from Shanghai Shenhua until 30 June 2020) 26 FW Mason Greenwood 28 MF Angel Gomes 29 DF Aaron Wan-Bissaka 31 MF Nemanja Matić 37 MF James Garner 38 DF Axel Tuanzebe 39 MF Scott McTominay 44 FW Tahith Chong 53 DF Brandon Williams

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 7 FW Alexis Sánchez (at Inter Milan until 30 June 2020)[188] 12 DF Chris Smalling (at Roma until 30 June 2020)[189]

No. Position Player 16 DF Marcos Rojo (at Estudiantes LP until 30 June 2020)[190] 40 GK Joel Castro Pereira (at Hearts until 30 June 2020)[191]

As of 28 February 2020[192]

List of under-23s and academy players with senior squad numbers

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 30 GK Nathan Bishop 41 DF Ethan Laird 47 MF Arnau Puigmal 49 FW D'Mani Mellor 51 GK Matěj Kovář

No. Position Player 54 MF Ethan Galbraith 58 DF Di'Shon Bernard 59 FW Largie Ramazani 63 MF Dylan Levitt 71 DF Teden Mengi

• First Division/Premier League[nb 3]
  • Winners (20; record): 1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
• Second Division[nb 3]
  • Winners (2): 1935–36, 1974–75

• FA Cup
  • Winners (12): 1908–09, 1947–48, 1962–63, 1976–77, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2015–16
• Football League Cup/EFL Cup
  • Winners (5): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2016–17
• FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield
  • Winners (21; record): 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 (* shared)

• European Cup/UEFA Champions League
  • Winners (3): 1967–68, 1998–99, 2007–08
• European Cup Winners' Cup
  • Winners (1): 1990–91
• UEFA Europa League
  • Winners (1): 2016–17
• European Super Cup
  • Winners (1): 1991

• Intercontinental Cup
  • Winners (1): 1999
• FIFA Club World Cup
  • Winners (1): 2008

• Doubles
  • League and FA Cup: 3
    • 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99
  • League and EFL Cup: 1
    • 2008–09
  • European Double (League and UEFA Champions League): 2
    • 1998–99, 2007–08
  • EFL Cup and UEFA Europa League: 1
    • 2016–17
• Trebles
  • Continental Treble (League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League): 1
    • 1998–99
  • European Treble (European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League)[nb 4]
    • 1967–68 European Cup, 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup, 2016–17 UEFA Europa League

Especially short competitions such as the Charity/Community Shield, Intercontinental Cup (now defunct), FIFA Club World Cup or UEFA Super Cup are not generally considered to contribute towards a Double or Treble.[216]