Manchester United

Manchester United

Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), Man U or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division in the English football league system. Nicknamed the Red Devils, it was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. After a spell playing in Clayton, Manchester, the club moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910.

Manchester United have won a record 20 League titles, 12 FA Cups, six League Cups, and a record 21 FA Community Shields. They have won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League three times, and the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup once each.[5][6] In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, 10 years after eight of the club's players were killed in the Munich air disaster, they became the first English club to win the European Cup. Sir Alex Ferguson is the club's longest-serving and most successful manager, winning 38 trophies, including 13 league titles, five FA Cups, and two Champions League titles between 1986 and 2013.[7][8] In the 1998–99 season, under Ferguson, the club became the first in the history of English football to achieve the European treble of the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League.[9] In winning the UEFA Europa League under José Mourinho in 2016–17, they became one of five clubs to have won the original three main UEFA club competitions (the Champions League, Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup).

Manchester United is one of the most widely supported football clubs in the world[10][11] and has rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Leeds United. Manchester United was the highest-earning football club in the world for 2016–17, with an annual revenue of €676.3 million,[12] and the world's third most valuable football club in 2019, valued at £3.15 billion ($3.81 billion).[13] After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was taken private in 2005 after a purchase by American businessman Malcolm Glazer valued at almost £800 million, of which over £500 million of borrowed money became the club's debt.[14] From 2012, some shares of the club were listed on the New York Stock Exchange, although the Glazer family retains overall ownership and control of the club.

History

See also: List of Manchester United F.C. seasons

refer to caption

A chart showing the progress of Manchester United through the English football league system, from joining as Newton Heath in 1892–93 to the present

Early years (1878–1945)

Main article: History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945)

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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[15] After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division.