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Manchester United

Manchester United's crest
Full name	Manchester United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Red Devils
Founded	1878, as Newton Heath LYR F.C.
Ground	Old Trafford
Capacity	75,957
Owner	Malcolm Glazer
Co-chairmen	Joel & Avram Glazer
Manager	Alex Ferguson
League	Premier League
2008–09	Premier League, 1st
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester. Having won a joint-record 18 English league titles and a record 11 FA Cups, Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football, and are the reigning Premier League champions and Football League Cup holders.

Founded as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878, the club joined the Football League in 1892 and has played in the top division of English football since 1938, with the exception of the 1974–75 season. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, after beating Benfica 4–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium. In their most successful season to date, they won a second European Cup in 1999 – along with the Premier League and FA Cup – to become the first English club to win the Treble. They added a third Champions League in 2008, before finishing as runners-up in 2009.

The club is one of the most wealthy and widely supported football teams in the world; it is currently ranked 3rd in the Deloitte Football Money League (behind Real Madrid and Barcelona) and is considered the most valuable club in any sport worldwide as of April 2009. Manchester United was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs, and its replacement, the European Club Association.

Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986, joining from Aberdeen F.C. after the departure of Ron Atkinson and is the most successful manager in their history, having won 26 major honours to date. The current club captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005. The club's home is Old Trafford, where average attendances have been higher than at any other English club football ground for all but six seasons since 1964–65.

History

Early years (1878–1945)

The club was formed as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878, the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. In 1892, the club joined The Football League and began to sever its links with the rail depot; it became an registered company, appointed a club secretary, dropped the "LYR" from its name to become simply Newton Heath F.C., and finally moved to a new ground in Clayton in 1893.

By the beginning of 1902, the club was on the verge of bankruptcy with debts of £2,670, equivalent to about £370,000 as of 2024. After seeking new investment, four local businessmen, found by captain Harry Stafford, invested £500 each in return for a direct interest in running the club. and in one of the ensuing board meetings, it was decided that the club should change its name; on 26 April 1902, Manchester United officially came into existence.

After finishing in second place in the 1905–06 Second Division season, Manchester United were promoted to the First Division, in which they won their first league title in 1908. The following season began with United picking up another piece of silverware – the first ever Charity Shield – and ended with the club's first FA Cup title. The club would have to wait another two years before winning any more silverware – winning the First Division for the second time in the 1910–11 season – which would prove to be the last time the club won the First Division for 41 years (the longest they have gone without winning the league in their history).

After a period of gradual decline, the club were relegated to the Second Division in 1922, where they would remain until they regained promotion in 1925. Unable to consolidate their First Division status, they became somewhat of a yo-yo club and were again relegated in 1931. In 1934, the club achieved their all-time lowest position of 20th in the Second Division. However, in the last year of football before the outbreak of the Second World War, the club placed 14th in the First Division.

Busby years (1945–1969)

The impending resumption of English and European Association Football after the Second World War resulted in the search for a permanent manager which led to the appointment of Matt Busby in October 1945. Busby's appointment was notable because of his insistence that he was given a then unprecedented level of control over team affairs including the right to: pick the team, sign players and run training sessions. One of Busby's first significant actions was to appoint Jimmy Murphy as reserve team manager.

Busby began his tenure successfully; he guided the club to second place League finishes in 1947, 1948 and 1949, winning the League in 1952, and the FA Cup in 1948. By 1952, Busby had adopted a policy of promoting youth team players to replace players when they retired; this concept is still used by recent managers. The team he guided to League success in 1956 had an average age of 22, and this success led to the media labelling the team as "the Busby Babes". The following season, the team went on to win back-to-back league titles and reach the FA Cup final, which they lost to Aston Villa. 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. 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 their biggest victory on record.

Tragedy struck the following season; on the way home from the quarter-final second leg against Red Star Belgrade, which saw United again qualify for the semi-final, the aeroplane carrying the United players, officials and journalists crashed while taking off from a stopover in Munich, Germany. The Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958 claimed the lives of eight players – Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam "Billy" Whelan – and another fifteen passengers, including United staff members Walter Crickmer, Bert Whalley and Tom Curry.

Jimmy Murphy took over as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries and the club continued playing with a makeshift side which would go on to reach the FA Cup final, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers. In recognition of the great loss suffered by the team, UEFA invited the club to compete in the 1958–59 European Cup alongside eventual League champions Wolverhampton Wanderers, but although the FA gave their approval for entry, the Football League determined that the club had not qualified for the competition and therefore should not enter.

Throughout the 1960s, Busby rebuilt the team by signing players such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand, who combined with the next generation of youth team players – among whom was the later famous George Best – to win the FA Cup in 1963; however, they could only manage a disappointing 19th place finish in the First Division. Nevertheless, the FA Cup triumph seemed to reinvigorate the team; the following season they finished second in the league, and then went one better by winning the title in 1965 and 1967. In 1968, Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in the final.

This United team was notable for containing three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best. Matt Busby resigned as manager in 1969 and was replaced by the reserve team coach and former United player, Wilf McGuinness.

1969–1986

The team struggled under new manager Wilf McGuinness, finishing eighth in the 1969–70 season. Following a poor start to the 1970–71 season, McGuinness was demoted to the position of reserve team coach; Busby was convinced to resume managerial duties – albeit only for six months – and an improvement in results soon followed. However, he finally left the club for the last time in the summer of 1971, by which time the club had also lost a number of high-profile players, including Nobby Stiles and Pat Crerand.

In June 1971, after missing out on Celtic's European Cup-winning manager, Jock Stein, who was believed to have verbally agreed to the role, Frank O'Farrell was appointed as Busby's successor; however, he lasted less than 18 months in the post, and he was replaced by Tommy Docherty at the end of 1972; he managed to save the team from relegation that season, only to see them relegated in 1974, by which time the golden trio of Best, Law and Charlton had left the club.

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. In spite of this success Docherty was sacked soon after the final after it was revealed he had had an affair with the physiotherapist's wife.

Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977, but despite major signings, including Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey and Ray Wilkins, the team failed to achieve anything of significance; they finished in the top two in 1979–80 and lost to Arsenal in the 1979 FA Cup Final. It was this lack of silverware that led to Sexton's sacking in 1981, even though he won his last seven games in charge.

He was replaced by the flamboyant Ron Atkinson, who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from his old club, West Bromwich Albion. Under Atkinson, Manchester United won the FA Cup twice in three years, in 1983 and 1985, and, after a promising start, were favourites to win the league in the 1985–86 season; however, their form collapsed and they finished in a relatively disappointing fourth place. Their poor form continued into the following season, and with the club in danger of entering the relegation zone by the beginning of November 1986, Atkinson was sacked.

Alex Ferguson era, pre-Treble (1986–1998)

Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen to replace Atkinson on the same day that Atkinson was sacked, bringing with him his assistant manager, Archie Knox. Although his first match in charge, against Oxford United on 8 November 1986, resulted in a 2–0 defeat, Ferguson guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league in his debut season. Despite a promising second place finish in 1987–88, the following season the club could only manage 11th place again.

Ferguson was reportedly on the verge of being sacked by the beginning of 1990, with many believing that defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup Third Round would seal his fate. However, a 56th-minute goal from Mark Robins won the match for United and started a cup run that would take them all the way to the final at Wembley, where they beat Crystal Palace 1–0 in a replay (after a 3–3 draw in the original match) and save Ferguson's career. The following year, United reached the final of the League Cup, but lost 1–0 to former manager Ron Atkinson's Sheffield Wednesday team. However, the season was capped by the club's first Cup Winners' Cup title, beating Barcelona 2–1 in the final in Rotterdam. The Cup Winners' Cup triumph allowed the team to play in the 1991 UEFA Super Cup, in which they beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance followed in 1992, with United this time beating Nottingham Forest 1–0 at Wembley.

The summer of 1991 saw the arrival of Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, whose 17 league clean sheets gave United the best defensive record in the First Division in 1991–92, helping them to a second-place finish behind Leeds United, within whose ranks was a certain French maverick named Eric Cantona – who would go on to sign for Manchester United in November 1992 – and help the team to their first league title since 1967. After the signing of Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest, for a British record transfer fee of £3.75 million, in July 1993, United won a second consecutive title for the first time since 1957, before winning the FA Cup to complete the first "Double" in the club's history.

The failure to win the league again in 1995 prompted Ferguson into some major restructuring of the team, selling Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes and replacing them with players from the club's youth team, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes, who went on to help the team win the League in 1996, and another double in 1997. They started the 1997–98 season well, but they lost five matches after Christmas and finished in second place, one point behind double-winners Arsenal.

The Treble (1998–99)

The 1998–99 season for Manchester United was the most successful season in English club football history as they became the only English team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, known as 'The Treble', in the same season. After a very tense Premier League season, Manchester United won the title on the final day beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1. In the FA Cup Final United faced Newcastle United and won 2–0 with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. Losing 1-0 going into injury time in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær secured a dramatic victory over Bayern Munich, in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks of all time. The club also won the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.

After the Treble (1999–present)

Despite winning the league in 2000 and 2001, Manchester United were unable to regain the Champions League and attracted criticism for declining to take part in the 1999–2000 FA Cup, instead competing in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil. After a collapse in form, United finished the 2001–02 Premier League season in third place. However, they regained the league the following season (2002–03) and won the 2004 FA Cup, beating Millwall 3-0 in the final in Cardiff.

The club made a poor start to the 2005–06 season – midfielder Roy Keane left for Celtic in acrimonious fashion, after publicly criticising several of his team-mates – and the club failed to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade. However, the team recovered to secure a second place League finish and victory over newly promoted neighbours Wigan Athletic in the League Cup Final in a season that also saw the departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid, after a disagreement with Alex Ferguson.

New signings in the form of Michael Carrick, Nemanja Vidić and Patrice Evra, as well as the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo, saw Manchester United regain the Premier League in the 2006–07 season, four years after their last title. Despite finding themselves in 17th place in the Premier League after three games, the club completed the European double, beating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the final in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, after a 1–1 draw in normal time on 21 May 2008. This game saw Ryan Giggs make a record 759th appearance for the club, overtaking previous record holder, Bobby Charlton.

On 21 December 2008, the club added more silverware to their trophy cabinet with a win in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup Final, defeating the Ecuadorian side LDU Quito 1–0 in Japan and followed this with the 2009 League Cup by defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 on penalties. Later that season, Manchester United secured their third consecutive Premier League title, the second time they have achieved this feat. They failed, however, to win a second consecutive Champions League title, losing 2–0 to Barcelona in the final in Rome. At the end of this season, Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid for a world record £80 million and was replaced by Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia, who joined from Wigan in a deal valued at £16 million.

In 2010, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 at Wembley to retain the League Cup, the first time they have successfully defended a knockout cup competition.

Colours

During its days as Newton Heath the club played in a number of different colours, including the half yellow, half green shirts worn between 1878–1892, and 1894–1896; this strip was revived as an away kit in the early 1990s. Other kits included a red and white quartered shirt (1892–1894) and a plain white shirt (1896–1902), both worn with blue shorts.

In 1902, in conjunction with the name change to Manchester United, the club changed its colours to red shirts, white shorts and black socks, which has since become the standard for most home kits. Notable exceptions to this are during the 1920-21 season, when the socks were red, from 1959-64 (when the socks were white) and from 1964–1971, when the socks were again red. The shirt that the team wore in the 1909 FA Cup Final against Bristol City, was white with a red 'V' sash, a design that was resurrected between 1922-1927.

Away strips are generally white shirts with black shorts and white socks, but other colours have been used, including: a blue and white striped shirt used on-and-off between 1903 to 1916, an all-black kit in 1994, 2003 and 2007 and a navy blue shirt with silver horizontal pinstripes in 2000. One of the most (in)famous, yet short-lived, United away kits was the all grey kit from 1995–96, which was dropped after just two games after players said they had trouble picking out their teammates against the backdrop of the crowd. In 2001, much publicity was given to the reversible white or gold away kit to celebrate 100 years of playing under the name Manchester United. Two kits in one, United wore the white kit as first choice away kit and the gold as their second. Both were worn with black shorts and black socks. This was also to be the last United kit from Manchester sportswear firm, Umbro

The club's third kit is traditionally all-blue in homage to the kit worn during the 1968 European Cup triumph, tribute to which was made with the club's 2008–09 third to mark its 40th anniversary. Exceptions to this rule have included a bright yellow kit worn in the early 1970s, the aforementioned blue and white striped shirt from 1994–1996, and a white shirt with black and red horizontal pinstripes from 2004.

Currently, Manchester United's home shirts are red with a shallow black chevron across the chest. The club crest sits on a black shield of the same shape on the left side of the V, while the white Nike logo sits on the right side; the AIG logo is also white. In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the opening of the club's Old Trafford stadium, a label reading "The Theatre of Dreams Since 1910" is attached to the side seam. The home shirt is worn with white shorts with red stripes down the sides of both legs, and black socks with a red chevron on the calf. The current away kit follows the same design, but the shirt is black with a blue chevron on the chest and the club crest sits on a blue shield. The shorts are also black with blue stripes down the sides, while the socks are black with a blue chevron on the calf. The club's 2008–09 away kit, consisting of a white shirt with blue stripes down the sides and a blue collar with red trim, is being used as the 2009–10 third kit. Worn with blue shorts and white socks, the third shirt – which was used as the away shirt in 2008–09 – has blue sponsor logos and the letters "MUFC" on the back of the collar. The club badge sits on a white shield on the left breast.

Crest

The Manchester United crest has been altered on a few occasions, but the basic form remains similar. The badge is derived from the crest of the city of Manchester. The devil on the club badge stems from the club's nickname "The Red Devils", which was adopted in the early 1960s after Matt Busby heard it in reference to the red-shirted Salford rugby league side. By the end of the 1960s, the devil had started to be included on club programmes and scarves, before it was finally incorporated into the club badge in 1970, holding its unmistakable trident. In 1998, the badge was once again redesigned, this time removing the words "Football Club".

Grounds

Old Trafford

Theatre of Dreams
Location	Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England
Owner	Manchester United
Operator	Manchester United
Capacity	75,957 seated
Construction
Broke ground	1909
Opened	19 February 1910
Construction cost	£90,000 (1909)
Architect	Archibald Leitch (1909)
Tenants
Manchester United (Premier League) (1910–present)

At their formation in 1878, Newton Heath played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road, where they remained for 15 years before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. In 1902, the club went close to bankruptcy and the Bank Street ground was closed by bailiffs. Club captain Harry Stafford scraped together enough money to pay for the club's next away game at Bristol City and found a temporary ground at neighbouring Harpurhey for the next home game against Blackpool.

Following investment to save the club from liquidation, and a change of name to "Manchester United", they began the search for a new ground. Six weeks before United's first FA Cup title in April 1909, Old Trafford was named as the home of Manchester United, following the purchase of the necessary land for around £60,000. Architect Archibald Leitch was hired by chairman John Henry Davies, and given a budget of £30,000 for construction. Original plans indicated that the stadium would hold around 100,000, though this was revised to 77,000 when the budget became stretched. Construction was carried out by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester. At the opening of the stadium, standing tickets cost sixpence, while the most expensive seats in the grandstand cost five shillings. The change of ground could not have come soon enough – only a few days after the club played their last game at Bank Street, one of the stands was blown down in a storm. The stadium's record attendance was recorded on 25 March 1939, when an FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town was watched by 76,962 spectators – more than the current stadium officially holds.

Bombing during the Second World War, on 11 March 1941, destroyed much of the stadium; the central tunnel in the main stand (now the South Stand) was all that remained of that quarter of the ground. After the war, the club received compensation from the War Damage Commission to the value of £22,278 for the reconstruction of the ground. Though the ground was rebuilt in 1949, matches were not played at Old Trafford for nearly 10 years after the bombing as the team played their "home" games at Manchester City's Maine Road ground; City charged United £5,000 per year for the use of their stadium, plus a nominal percentage of the gate receipts.

Subsequent improvements included the addition of roofs, first to the Stretford End and then to the North and East Stands. However, the old-fashioned roof supports obscured the view of many fans, and the roofs were later upgraded to incorporate the cantilevering still seen on the stadium today. The Stretford End was the last stand to receive the upgrade to the cantilevered roof, the work being completed in time for the start of the 1993–94 season.

Floodlights were installed in the mid-1950s. Four 180-foot (55 m)-tall pylons were erected, each housing 54 individual floodlights. The lighting system cost the club £40,000, and was first used for a match on 25 March 1957. These floodlights were dismantled in 1987 and replaced by a lighting system embedded in the roof of each of the stands which is used today.

In 1990, following the Hillsborough Disaster, a report was issued requiring all stadia be converted to all-seaters and subsequent renovation lowered the capacity to around 44,000. In 1995, the North Stand was redeveloped into three tiers, raising the capacity to approximately 55,000. Between July 2005 and May 2006 seating capacity was increased by 8,000 seats with the addition of a second tier to 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. The record continued to be pushed upwards before reaching its peak on 31 March 2007, when 76,098 spectators saw United beat Blackburn Rovers 4–1, meaning that just 114 seats (0.15% of the total capacity of 76,212) were unoccupied. In 2009, reorganisation of the seating resulted in a reduction of the capacity by 255 to 75,957.

Further development to the stadium could cost up to £114 million, equalling the amount spent in the last fourteen years, as the club would have to acquire up to fifty houses and any extension would have to be built over the adjacent railway line. Ideally expansion would include adding tiers to the South Stand and filling in the South-West and South-East quadrants to restore the "bowl" effect. Estimates project the capacity of the completed stadium at approximately 96,000, more than the new Wembley Stadium.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). The West Stand of Old Trafford – more commonly known as the "Stretford End" – is the traditional home end and is where the majority of the "hardcore" fans congregate.

Manchester United has a worldwide fan base; there are now more than 200 officially recognised branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUSC), in at least 24 countries. The club frequently takes advantage of this widespread support through its worldwide summer tours.

The supporters are represented by two independent bodies; the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association (IMUSA), which maintains close links to the club through the 'MUFC Fans Forum', and the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST).

In the wake of Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United in 2005, a small group of fans formed a splinter club, F.C. United of Manchester.

Rivalries

Manchester United have major rivalries with three clubs: Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United. Of these three, the most hotly contested derby fixture is often Liverpool as both teams have had their own respective periods of domination in English football. In addition, the club developed a strong on-pitch rivalry with Arsenal in the late 1980s, which intensified in recent years when both clubs were competing for the Premier League title

Ownership and finances

In 1989, longstanding chairman Martin Edwards attempted to offload the club to property tycoon Michael Knighton. The £20 million deal was all but confirmed – Knighton was given access to the club's financial records – but, before the deal could be finalised, his financial backers pulled out and the deal was cancelled. In exchange for his silence regarding the financial matters of the club, Knighton was given a place on the Board of Directors.

In 1991, requiring some extra financial support in the wake of the Taylor Report, the club floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £47 million, bringing its finances into the public eye. Martin Edwards retained his position as chairman, but the club was now publicly owned.

As a result of its listed status, in the late 1990s and early part of the 2000s, an increasing source of concern for many United supporters was the possibility of the club being taken over. The Independent Manchester United Supporters Association (IMUSA) was extremely active in opposing a proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1998. Another pressure group, Shareholders United Against Murdoch (which became Shareholders United and is now the Manchester United Supporters' Trust) was formed at around this time to encourage supporters to buy shares in the club in an attempt to block any hostile takeover

From 2003 onwards, Malcolm Glazer gradually increased his shareholding in the club; on 12 May 2005 he reached an agreement with shareholders J. P. McManus and John Magnier to purchase their 28.7% stake in the team, hence acquiring a controlling interest in the club through his investment vehicle Red Football Ltd. in a takeover valuing the club at approximately £800 million (then approx. $1.5 billion). On 16 May, he increased his share to the 75% necessary to de-list the club from the Stock Exchange, making it private again, and announced his intention to do so within 20 days. On 8 June, he appointed his sons to the Manchester United board as non-executive directors.

In July 2006, the club announced a refinancing package. The total amount will be £660 million, on which interest payments will be £62 million a year. This result of this new financing plan will be a 30% reduction of annual payments.

On 11 January 2010, shortly before an announcement that Red Football's debt had increased to £716.5 million ($1.17 billion), Manchester United announced their intention to refinance the debt through a bond issue worth approximately £500 million. They managed to raise £504 million in just under two weeks, meaning that they were able to pay off almost all of the £509 million owed to international banks. The bonds were issued in two tranches, one with a coupon rate of 8.75% worth £250 million, and the other with a coupon rate of 8.375% worth $425 million. The annual interest payable on the bond came to approximately £45 million per annum, but the bond will not mature until 1 February 2017.

Despite its restructuring, the announcement about the club's debt prompted vociferous protests from Manchester United fans on the weekend of 23 January 2010, both at Old Trafford and at the club's Trafford Training Centre. A non-violent protest was organised by the club's supporters groups, encouraging match-going fans to wear green and gold, the colours of Manchester United's precursor club, Newton Heath. A few days later, on 30 January, reports emerged that the Manchester United Supporters' Trust had held meetings with a group of wealthy fans, dubbed the "Red Knights", with a view to buying out the Glazers' controlling interest in the club. The group then met with Keith Harris, a Manchester United fan and the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, in order to broker a takeover.

Sponsorship

AIG are the main sponsors of Manchester United, and as part of the sponsorship deal, their logo is displayed on the front of the club's shirts and a plethora of other merchandise. Worth a British record £56.5 million, to be paid over four years (£14.1 million a year), the AIG deal was announced by Manchester United chief executive David Gill on 6 April 2006 and became the most valuable sponsorship deal in the world in September 2006 after the renegotiation of the £15 million-a-year deal Juventus had with oil firm Tamoil. On 21 January 2009, it was announced that AIG would not be renewing their sponsorship of the club at the end of the deal in May 2010. It is not clear, however, whether or not AIG's agreement to run MU Finance will continue. American reinsurance company Aon was named as the club's principal sponsor on 3 June 2009, with their sponsorship of the club taking effect from the beginning of the 2010–11 season. The terms of the deal were not revealed, but it has been reported to be worth approximately £80 million over four years, which would make it the biggest sponsorship deal in football history.

The club has only ever had three main shirt sponsors. The first and longest-running was Sharp Electronics, who sponsored the club from 1982 to 2000, which was one of the lengthiest and most lucrative sponsorship deals in English football. Sharp's logo was on the front of United's shirts during these 17 years, during which the team won seven Premier League titles, five FA Cups, one Football League Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup and one European Cup. Vodafone took over in an initial four-year £30 million deal on 11 February 2000, with the sponsorship to begin at the start of the 2000–01 season. In December 2003, the sponsorship was extended by four years with Vodafone agreeing to pay £36 million over the four years from 2004 to 2008. However, on 23 November 2005, Vodafone announced that they would be ending the deal in May 2006 in order to concentrate on their sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League.

Similarly, the club has only had four independent kit manufacturers, the first being local sportswear company Umbro. Admiral took over in 1975, and became the first company to place their logo on a Manchester United shirt in 1976. Adidas followed in 1980, before Umbro started a second spell as the club's kit manufacturers in 1992. Umbro's sponsorship lasted for a further ten years, before the club struck a record-breaking £302.9 million deal with Nike. The agreement with Nike will last an initial 13 years, running until at least 2015.

Players

First-team squad

As of 16 March 2010, according to combined sources on the official website.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  NED Edwin van der Sar 2 DF  ENG Gary Neville (captain) 3 DF  FRA Patrice Evra 4 MF  ENG Owen Hargreaves 5 DF  ENG Rio Ferdinand 6 DF  ENG Wes Brown 7 FW  ENG Michael Owen 8 MF  BRA Anderson 9 FW  BUL Dimitar Berbatov 10 FW  ENG Wayne Rooney 11 MF  WAL Ryan Giggs (vice-captain) 12 GK  ENG Ben Foster 13 MF  KOR Park Ji-Sung 15 DF  SRB Nemanja Vidić 16 MF  ENG Michael Carrick 17 MF  POR Nani 18 MF  ENG Paul Scholes 19 FW  ENG Danny Welbeck 20 DF  BRA Fábio 21 DF  BRA Rafael

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  IRL John O'Shea 23 DF  NIR Jonny Evans 24 MF  SCO Darren Fletcher 25 MF  ECU Antonio Valencia 26 FW  FRA Gabriel Obertan 27 FW  ITA Federico Macheda 28 MF  IRL Darron Gibson 29 GK  POL Tomasz Kuszczak 30 DF  BEL Ritchie De Laet 31 MF  NIR Corry Evans 32 FW  SEN Mame Biram Diouf 36 MF  SCO David Gray 37 DF  NIR Craig Cathcart 38 GK  GER Ron-Robert Zieler 41 FW  NOR Joshua King 42 MF  NOR Magnus Wolff Eikrem 44 DF  NIR Joe Dudgeon 45 DF  ENG Oliver Gill 46 MF  ENG Cameron Stewart 47 MF  NIR Oliver Norwood

On loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF  SRB Zoran Tošić (at Köln until 30 June 2010) 35 MF  ENG Tom Cleverley (at Watford until 30 June 2010)

No. Pos. Nation Player 40 GK  ENG Ben Amos (at Molde until 30 June 2010) 43 MF  ENG Matthew James (at Preston North End until 30 June 2010)

Reserves and academy

For the reserve and academy squads, see Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy.

Former players

For details on former players, see List of Manchester United F.C. players and Category:Manchester United F.C. players.

Club captains

Dates	Name	Notes
1878–1882	Unknown
1882	E. Thomas	First known club captain
1882–1883	Unknown
c.1883–1887	Sam Black
c.1887–1890	Jack Powell
1890–1892	Unknown
1892–1893	Joe Cassidy
1893–1894	Unknown
c.1894	James McNaught
1894–1896	Unknown
c.1896–1903	Harry Stafford	First captain of Manchester United
1903–1904	Unknown
c.1904–1905	Jack Peddie
c.1905–1912	Charlie Roberts
1912–1913	George Stacey
1913	Dick Duckworth
1914	George Hunter
1914–1915	Patrick O'Connell
1915–1919	None	No football was played during the First World War
1919–1922	Unknown
c.1922–1928	Frank Barson
c.1928–1931	Jack Wilson
1931–1932	George McLachlan
1932	Louis Page
1932–1935	Unknown
c.1935–1939	Jimmy Brown
1939–1945	None	No football was played during the Second World War
1945–1953	Johnny Carey	First post-war captain, and first from outside the United Kingdom
1953–1954	Stan Pearson
1954–1955	Allenby Chilton
1955–1958	Roger Byrne	Died in the 1958 Munich air disaster
1958–1959	Bill Foulkes
1959–1960	Dennis Viollet
1960–1962	Maurice Setters
1962–1964	Noel Cantwell
1964–1967	Denis Law
1967–1973	Bobby Charlton
1973	George Graham
1973–1975	Willie Morgan
1975–1982	Martin Buchan
1982	Ray Wilkins
1982–1994	Bryan Robson	Longest-serving captain in United's history
1994–1996	Steve Bruce
1996–1997	Eric Cantona	First United captain from outside the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland
1997–2005	Roy Keane	Most trophies won as captain
2005–present	Gary Neville	First club captain to be born in Greater Manchester since Dennis Viollet

Player records

As of match played 3 April 2010 and according to the official statistics website. Players in bold are still currently playing for Manchester United.

Most appearances

#	Name	Career	Appearances	Goals
1	Ryan Giggs	1991–present	832	152
2	Bobby Charlton	1956–1973	758	249
3	Bill Foulkes	1952–1970	688	9
4	Paul Scholes	1994–present	638	148
5	Gary Neville	1992–present	595	7
6	Alex Stepney	1966–1978	539	2
7	Tony Dunne	1960–1973	535	2
8	Denis Irwin	1990–2002	529	33
9	Joe Spence	1919–1933	510	168
10	Arthur Albiston	1974–1988	485	7

Most goals

#	Name	Career	Goals	Appearances	Goals/Game Ratio
1	Bobby Charlton	1956–1973	249	758	0.328
2	Denis Law	1962–1973	237	404	0.587
3	Jack Rowley	1937–1955	211	424	0.498
4=	Dennis Viollet	1953–1962	179	293	0.611
4=	George Best	1963–1974	179	470	0.381
6	Joe Spence	1919–1933	168	510	0.329
7	Mark Hughes	1983–1986 1988–1995	163	467	0.349
8	Ryan Giggs	1991–present	152	832	0.183
9	Ruud van Nistelrooy	2001–2006	150	219	0.685
10=	Stan Pearson	1937–1954	148	343	0.431
10=	Paul Scholes	1994–present	148	638	0.232

Award winners

Ballon d'Or

The following players have won the Ballon d'Or whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Denis Law – 1964
• Bobby Charlton – 1966
• George Best – 1968
• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008

European Golden Shoe

The following players have won the European Golden Shoe whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals) – 2008

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year

The following players have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award whilst playing for Manchester United:

• David Beckham – 1999
• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008

FIFA World Player of the Year

The following players have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008

Ladies team

Manchester United Ladies F.C. was founded in 1977 as Manchester United Supporters Club Ladies. They joined the Three Counties League in 1979, and became founding members of the North West Women's Regional Football League in 1989, when they officially changed their name to Manchester United Ladies FC. Although they were relegated from the league in their first season, they were promoted again the season after and went on to win the league title in 1995–96. For the 1998–99 season, the team joined the Northern Combination, two steps below the FA Women's Premier League. They were officially brought under the banner of Manchester United FC at the start of the 2001–02 season, but for financial reasons they were controversially disbanded before the start of the 2004–05 season. However, the club is still involved in girls' football, offering coaching to girls under the age of 16.

Club officials

• Owner: Malcolm Glazer
• Honorary president: Martin Edwards

Manchester United Limited

• Co-chairmen: Joel Glazer & Avram Glazer
• Chief executive: David Gill
• Chief operating officer: Michael Bolingbroke
• Commercial director: Richard Arnold
• Executive director: Ed Woodward
• Non-executive directors: Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer & Darcie Glazer

Manchester United football club

• Directors: David Gill, Michael Edelson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Maurice Watkins
• Club secretary: Ken Ramsden (to be replaced by John Alexander from 2010–11 season)
• Assistant club secretary: Ken Merrett
• Global ambassador: Bryan Robson

Coaching and medical staff

• Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
• Assistant manager: Mike Phelan
• First team coach: René Meulensteen
• Goalkeeping coach: Eric Steele
• Fitness coach: Tony Strudwick
• Strength & conditioning coach: Mick Clegg
• Head of human performance: Dr. Richard Hawkins
• Reserve team manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjær
• Reserve team coach: Warren Joyce
• Chief scout: Jim Lawlor
• Chief European scout: Martin Ferguson
• Director of youth academy: Brian McClair
• Director of youth football: Jimmy Ryan
• Club doctor: Dr. Steve McNally
• Assistant club doctor: Dr. Tony Gill
• First team physiotherapist: Rob Swire

Managerial history

Dates	Name	Notes
1878–1892	Unknown
1892–1900	A. H. Albut
1900–1903	James West
1903–1912	Ernest Mangnall
1912–1914	John Bentley
1914–1922	Jack Robson
1922–1926	John Chapman	First manager from outside of England
1926–1927	Lal Hilditch
1927–1931	Herbert Bamlett
1931–1932	Walter Crickmer
1932–1937	Scott Duncan
1937–1945	Walter Crickmer
1945–1969	Matt Busby	First post-Second World War manager and longest serving manager in United's history
1969–1970	Wilf McGuinness
1970–1971	Matt Busby
1971–1972	Frank O'Farrell	First manager from outside the United Kingdom
1972–1977	Tommy Docherty
1977–1981	Dave Sexton
1981–1986	Ron Atkinson
1986–present	Alex Ferguson	Most successful manager in terms of trophies

Honours

Domestic

League

• Premier League: 11
  • 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
• First Division: 7
  • 1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67
• Second Division: 2
  • 1935–36, 1974–75

Cups

• FA Cup: 11
  • 1908–09, 1947–48, 1962–63, 1976–77, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
• League Cup: 4
  • 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
• FA Charity/Community Shield: 17 (13 outright, 4 shared)
  • 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008 (* joint holders)

European

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

Worldwide

• Intercontinental Cup: 1
  • 1999
• FIFA Club World Cup: 1
  • 2008

Doubles and Trebles

• Doubles:
  • League and FA Cup: 3
    • 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99 (as part of The Treble)
  • League and League Cup: 1
    • 2008–09
  • European Double (League and European Cup): 2
    • 1998–99 (as part of The Treble), 2007–08
• "The Treble" (League, FA Cup and European Cup): 1
  • 1998–99

Especially short competitions such as the Charity/Community Shield, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup or Super Cup are not generally considered to contribute towards a Double or Treble.

The only major honour that Manchester United has never won is the UEFA Cup, although they reached the quarter-finals in 1984–85 and the semi-finals of the competition's precursor tournament, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, in 1964–65.

See also

• Richest football clubs

Supporters' organisations

• IMUSA
• Manchester United Supporters' Trust

Fanzines

• Red Issue
• United We Stand (fanzine)
• Red News

References

Notes

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3. "Manchester United win 11th FA Cup". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2004. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
4. "Top 20 Deloitte Football Money League in full". Deloitte. Goal.com. 2 March 2010. {{cite news}}: Text "http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2866/analysis/2010/03/02/1813676/top-20-deloitte-football-money-league-in-full" ignored (help)
5. "Soccer Team Valuations (Special Report)". Forbes.com. Forbes. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
6. "Giants to skip Fifa event". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 March 2004. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
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14. Tyrrell & Meek (1992), p. 97
15. ^ Barnes et al. (2001), p. 9
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52. McCarra, Kevin (27 May 2009). "Manchester United fold without a fight as Barcelona claim Champions League". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
53. "Valencia joins Man Utd from Wigan". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
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57. "United Kits: Season 1902/03". Unitedkits.com. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
58. "Manchester United historic kits". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
59. "English FA Cup Finalists 1900 - 1909". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
60. "Manchester United Kit History". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
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62. ^ "Manchester United Shirts 2000-2009". prideofmanchester.com. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
63. "Historical Manchester United Third Kits". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
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65. "Third Kit 2009/10". United Direct. Manchester United. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
66. "A to Z of Manchester United – R". ManUtdZone.com. Retrieved 3 August 2007. In the early 1960's Salford Rugby club toured France wearing red shirts and became known as "The Red Devils"
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68. Murphy (2006), p. 15
69. ^ Murphy (2006), p. 27
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118. ^ Upon its formation in 1992, the Premier League became the top tier of English football; the First and Second Divisions then became the second and third tiers, respectively. The First Division is now known as the Football League Championship and the Second Division is now known as Football League One.
119. "Trophy Room". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
120. "UEFA Cup – Season 1984-1985 - Quarter-finals". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
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Bibliography

• Barnes, Justyn; Bostock, Adam; Butler, Cliff; Ferguson, Jim; Meek, David; Mitten, Andy; Pilger, Sam; Taylor, Frank OBE; Tyrrell, Tom (2001) . The Official Manchester United Illustrated Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). London: Manchester United Books. ISBN 0-233-99964-7.
• Murphy, Alex (2006). The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. London: Orion Books. ISBN 0-75287-603-1.
• Tyrrell, Tom; Meek, David (1996) . The Hamlyn Illustrated History of Manchester United 1878-1996 (5th ed.). London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-59074-7.

External links

Official

• Official site

Independent sites

• Statistics website
• Independent Manchester United Supporters Association website
• Official Manchester United Supporters' Trust
• Manchester United F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• Manchester United at skysports.com
• Manchester United at premierleague.com

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