Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Manchester United are among the most successful football clubs in England, along with one of the most successful football clubs in the world. Domestically, they have won a joint-record twenty top-flight league titles, thirteen FA Cups, six League Cups and a record twenty-one FA Community Shields. Also, in international football, 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.

Overview§

Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Manchester United are among the most successful football clubs in England, along with one of the most successful football clubs in the world. Domestically, they have won a joint-record twenty top-flight league titles, thirteen FA Cups, six League Cups and a record twenty-one FA Community Shields. Also, in international football, 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. Nicknamed the Red Devils, they were founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but changed their name to Manchester United in 1902. After a spell playing in Clayton, Manchester, the club moved to their current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Appointed as manager in 1945, Matt Busby built a team with an average age of just 22 – nicknamed the Busby Babes – that won successive league titles in the 1950s, and became the first English club to compete in the European Cup. Eight players were killed in the Munich air disaster, but Busby rebuilt the team around star players George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton (known as the United Trinity). They won two more league titles before becoming the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968. After Busby's retirement, Manchester United were unable to make sustained success until the arrival of Alex Ferguson, who became 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. Under Ferguson, the club became the first in the history of English football to achieve the continental treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the 1998–99 season. 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 counts among the most broadly supported football clubs in the world and have rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City, Leeds United and Arsenal. Manchester United was the highest-earning football club in the world for 2016–17, with an annual revenue of €676.3 million, and the world's second-most-valuable football club in 2024, valued at £6.55 billion ($5.22 billion). After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was taken private in 2005 after a buy by American businessman Malcolm Glazer valued at almost £800 million, of which over £500 million of borrowed money became the club's debt. 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.

Early years (1878–1945)§

Manchester United were 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. 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. By 1888, the club had become a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league. After 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. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division.

In January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £280,000 in 2025 – the club was served with a winding-up order. 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 later changed the name; on 24 April 1902, Manchester United was officially born. Under Ernest Mangnall, who assumed managerial duties in 1903, Manchester United 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 after season started with victory in the first ever Charity Shield and ended with the club's first FA Cup title. Mangnall was considered a substantial influence behind the team's move to Old Trafford in 1910, and Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911. At the end of the after season, though, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football after 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, under secretary-manager Scott Duncan, narrowly avoiding relegation to the Third Division. Two years later, Duncan led the club to promotion before another relegation followed in 1937, which led to his resignation in November of that year. After 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. The last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division in the 1938–39 season.

Busby years (1945–1969)§

In October 1945, the impending resumption of football after the war led to the managerial appointment of Matt Busby, who demanded an unprecedented level of control over team selection, player transfers. and training sessions. 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. They then won back-to-back league titles in 1956 and 1957; the squad, which had an average age of 22, was nicknamed "the Busby Babes" by the media, a testament to Busby's faith in his youth players. 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 the club's biggest victory on record.

The after season, on the way home from an 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.

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. UEFA invited the club to compete in the 1958–59 European Cup alongside eventual League champions Wolverhampton Wanderers in recognition of the team's tragedy. Despite approval from The Football Association, The Football League determined that the club should not enter the competition, since it had not qualified. Busby rebuilt the team through the 1960s by signing players such as Denis Law and Paddy Crerand, who combined with the next generation of youth players – including George Best – to win the FA Cup in 1963. Busby rested several key players for the League game before the Cup Final, which gave Dennis Walker the chance to make his debut against Nottingham Forest on 20 May. Walker accordingly became the first Black player to represent United. The after season, they finished second in the league, then won the title in 1965 and 1967. Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in the final with a team that contained three European Footballers of the Year: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best in 1968. They then represented Europe in the 1968 Intercontinental Cup against Estudiantes of Argentina, but defeat in the first leg in Buenos Aires meant a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford three weeks later was not enough to claim the title. Busby resigned as manager in 1969 before being replaced by the reserve team coach, former Manchester United player Wilf McGuinness.

1969–1986§

After 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. Frank O'Farrell was appointed as manager, but lasted less than 18 months before being replaced by Tommy Docherty in December 1972 in June 1971. 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. 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. After the revelation of his affair with the club physiotherapist's wife, docherty was dismissed shortly afterwards. Dave Sexton replaced Docherty as manager in the summer of 1977. Despite leading signings, including Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Gary Bailey, and Ray Wilkins, the team failed to win any trophies; they finished second 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. He was replaced by Ron Atkinson, who immediately broke the British record transfer fee to sign Bryan Robson from his former club West Bromwich Albion. Under Atkinson, Manchester United won the FA Cup in 1983 and 1985 and beat rivals Liverpool to win the 1983 Charity Shield. After 13 wins and two draws in its first 15 matches, the club was favourite to win the league but finished in fourth place, in 1985–86. The after season, with the club in danger of relegation by November, Atkinson was dismissed.

Ferguson years (1986–2013)§

Alex Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox arrived from Aberdeen on 6 November 1986, and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league. Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the club was back in 11th place the after season. Reportedly on the verge of being dismissed, Ferguson's job was saved by victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup final. The after season, Manchester United claimed their first UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. That triumph allowed the club to compete in the European Super Cup for the first time, where United beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. The club appeared in two consecutive League Cup finals in 1991 and 1992, beating Nottingham Forest 1–0 in the second to win that competition for the first time as well. In 1993, in the first season of the newly founded Premier League, the club won their first league title since 1967, and a year later, for the first time since 1957, they won a second consecutive title – alongside the FA Cup – to complete the first "Double" in the club's history. Before retaining the league title once more in 1996–97 with a game to spare, united then became the first English club to do the Double twice when they won both competitions again in 1995–96.

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. Trailing 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 regarded as one of the greatest comebacks of all time. That summer, Ferguson gained a knighthood for his services to football. The club became the only British team to ever win the Intercontinental Cup with a 1–0 victory over the Libertadores winners Palmeiras in Tokyo in November 1999.

Manchester United won the league again in the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons, becoming only the fourth club to win the English title three times in a row. Before regaining the title in 2002–03, the team finished third in 2001–02. 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. Manchester United failed to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade, but recovered to secure a second-place league finish and victory over Wigan Athletic in the 2006 Football League Cup final in the 2005–06 season. The club regained the Premier League title 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. In December 2008, the club became the first British team to win the FIFA Club World Cup after beating LDU Quito 1–0 in the final. Manchester United followed this with the 2008–09 Football League Cup, and its third successive Premier League title. That summer, forward Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid for a world record £80 million. Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 at Wembley to retain the League Cup, its first successful defence of a knockout cup competition in 2010. After finishing as runners-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. 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.

Post-Ferguson decline and occasional surge (2013–present)§

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. He retired as the most decorated manager in football history. The club announced the next day that Everton manager David Moyes would replace him from 1 July, having signed a six-year contract. 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. They also failed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, the first time Manchester United had not qualified for an European competition since 1990. 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. Malcolm Glazer, the patriarch of the family that owns the club, died on 28 May 2014.

Under Van Gaal, United won a 12th FA Cup, but a disappointing slump in the middle of his second season led to his sacking with United having finished fifth in the league. José Mourinho was appointed in his place on 27 May 2016. In his first season he won the EFL Cup and the UEFA Europa League. Wayne Rooney scored his 250th goal for United, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton as the club's all-time top scorer in January 2017. The after season, United finished second in the league, their highest league placing since 2013, and Mourinho also guided the club to a 19th FA Cup final, but they lost 1–0 to Chelsea. On 18 December 2018, with United in sixth, Mourinho was sacked. Former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjær was appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the season. After winning 14 of his first 19 matches in charge, Solskjær was appointed permanent manager on a three-year deal, on 28 March 2019. On 18 April 2021, Manchester United announced they were joining 11 other European clubs as founding members of the European Super League, a proposed 20-team competition intended to rival the UEFA Champions League. The announcement drew a substantial backlash from supporters, other clubs, media partners, sponsors, players and the UK Government, forcing the club to withdraw just two days later. The failure of the project led to the resignation of executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, while resultant protests against Woodward and the Glazer family led to a pitch invasion ahead of a league match against Liverpool on 2 May 2021, which saw the first postponement of a Premier League game due to supporter protests in the competition's history. On the pitch, United equalled their own record for the biggest win in Premier League history with a 9–0 win over Southampton on 2 February 2021, but ended the season with defeat on penalties in the UEFA Europa League final against Villarreal, going four straight seasons without a trophy. On 20 November 2021, Solskjær left his role as manager. Before the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager until the end of the season, former midfielder Michael Carrick took charge for the after three games. On 21 April 2022, Erik ten Hag was appointed as the manager from the end of the 2021–22 season, and in his first season Manchester United won the 2022–23 EFL Cup, defeating Newcastle United in the final to end their longest period without a trophy since a six-year span between 1977 and 1983. On 5 March 2023, the club suffered their joint-heaviest defeat, losing 7–0 to rivals Liverpool at Anfield. At the end of the after season, the club finished eighth in the Premier League, their lowest league finish since the 1989–90 season, but went on to beat cross-city rivals Manchester City 2–1 in the FA Cup final, to win their 13th FA Cup title. On 28 October 2024, Ten Hag was sacked with the club 14th in the league and having recorded just four wins all season. The club appointed Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim as head coach on 1 November 2024. They finished the season 15th in the Premier League, their worst league campaign since their relegation in 1973–74. The club reached the UEFA Europa League final, but lost 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Before carrick was appointed as head coach until the end of the 2025–26 Premier League season, on 5 January 2026, Amorim was sacked, with under-18s manager and former United midfielder Darren Fletcher taking over on an interim basis. After a successful spell that saw United finish third in the Premier League, in turn qualifying for next season's Champions League, Carrick was appointed head coach on a permanent basis until at least 2028.

Crest and colours§

The club crest is derived from the Manchester City Council coat of arms, although all that remains of it on the current crest is the ship in full sail. Although the crest was not included on the chest of the shirt until 1971, the devil stems from the club's nickname "The Red Devils" inspired from Salford Rugby Club; it was included on club programmes and scarves in the 1960s, and incorporated into the club crest in 1970. In 1975, the red devil ("A devil facing the sinister guardant supporting with both hands a trident gules") was granted as a heraldic badge by the College of Arms to the English Football League for use by Manchester United. Newton Heath's uniform in 1879, four years before the club played its first competitive match, has since been documented as "white with blue cord". A photograph of the Newton Heath team, taken in 1892, is believed to show the players wearing red-and-white quartered jerseys and navy blue knickerbockers. Between 1894 and 1896, the players wore green and gold jerseys which were replaced in 1896 by white shirts, which were worn with navy blue shorts. After the name change in 1902, the club colours were changed to red shirts, white shorts, and black socks, which has become the standard Manchester United home kit. Very few changes were made to the kit until 1922 when the club adopted white shirts bearing a deep red "V" around the neck, similar to the shirt worn in the 1909 FA Cup final. They remained part of their home kits until 1927. For a period in 1934, the cherry and white hooped change shirt became the home colours, but the after season the red shirt was recalled after the club's lowest ever league placing of 20th in the Second Division and the hooped shirt dropped back to being the change. The black socks were changed to white from 1959 to 1965, where they were replaced with red socks up until 1971 with white used on occasion, when the club reverted to black. Black shorts and white socks are sometimes worn with the home strip, most often in away games, if there is a clash with the opponent's kit. For 2018–19, black shorts and red socks became the primary choice for the home kit. White socks have been the preferred choice for European games, which are typically played on weeknights, to aid with player visibility since 1997–98. The current home kit is a red shirt with Adidas' trademark three stripes in red on the shoulders, white shorts, and black socks. The Manchester United away strip has often been a white shirt, black shorts and white socks, but there have been several exceptions. These include an all-black strip with blue and gold trimmings between 1993 and 1995, the navy blue shirt with silver horizontal pinstripes worn during the 1999–2000 season, and the 2011–12 away kit, which had a royal blue body and sleeves with hoops made of small midnight navy blue and black stripes, with black shorts and blue socks. An all-grey away kit worn during the 1995–96 season was dropped after just five games; in its final outing against Southampton, Alex Ferguson instructed the team to change into the third kit during half-time. The reason for dropping it being that the players claimed to have trouble finding their teammates against the crowd, United failed to win a competitive game in the kit in five attempts. Although the actual match day shirts were not reversible, in 2001, to celebrate 100 years as "Manchester United", a reversible white and gold away kit was released. The club's third kit was traditionally all-blue; this was most recently the case during the 2014–15 season. Exceptions include a green-and-gold halved shirt worn between 1992 and 1994, a blue-and-white striped shirt worn during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons and once in 1996–97, an all-black kit worn during the Treble-winning 1998–99 season, and a white shirt with black-and-red horizontal pinstripes worn between 2003–04 and 2005–06. From 2006–07 to 2013–14, the third kit was the previous season's away kit, albeit updated with the new club sponsor in 2006–07 and 2010–11, apart from the 2008–09 season, when an all-blue kit was launched to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1967–68 European Cup success.

1878–1893: North Road§

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

1893–1910: Bank Street§

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. 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 accordingly being provided for". 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 after league game against Nottingham Forest three weeks later. Before the visit of Manchester City, the club bought 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"); though, weather restricted the attendance for the Manchester City match to just 12,000, in October 1895. 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. After financial investment, new club president John Henry Davies paid £500 for the erection of a new 1,000-seat stand at Bank Street. Within four years, the stadium had cover on all four sides, along with the ability to hold around 50,000 spectators, some of whom could watch from the viewing gallery atop the Main Stand.

1910–present: Old Trafford§

After 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; in February 1909, six weeks before the club's first FA Cup title, Old Trafford was named as the home of Manchester United, after the buy 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 a FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town drew 76,962 spectators. 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 gained 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. 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 get a cantilevered roof, completed in time for the 1993–94 season. 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. The Taylor Report's requirement for an all-seater stadium lowered capacity at Old Trafford to around 44,000 by 1993. The North Stand was redeveloped into three tiers, restoring capacity to around 55,000 in 1995. 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. 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. Reorganisation of the seating resulted in a reduction of capacity by 255 to 75,957 in 2009. In the 2023–24 season, Manchester United had the highest aggregate attendance in domestic league games at home among European clubs, with Borussia Dortmund recording the highest average attendance having played two fewer fixtures.

Proposed new ground§

In 2021, United co-chairman Joel Glazer said that "early-stage planning work" for the redevelopment of Old Trafford was underway. This followed "increasing criticism" over the lack of development of the ground since 2006. After the club's takeover by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in 2024, it emerged that plans were being made for the construction of a new, 100,000-capacity stadium near Old Trafford and that the current stadium would be downsized to serve as the home for the women's team and the club's academy. It was revealed that most fans surveyed are in favour of a new-build rather than redevelopment in November 2024. On 11 March 2025, the club announced that it had retained Foster and Partners to construct a new, 100,000-capacity stadium adjacent to Old Trafford. The club claims they are consulting with fans on key aspects of the build. The new stadium is under consideration as a host venue for the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Support§

Manchester United counts among the most popular football clubs in the world, with one of the highest average home attendances in Europe. The club states that its worldwide fan base includes more than 200 officially recognised branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUSC), in at least 24 countries. The club takes advantage of this support through its worldwide summer tours. Accountancy firm and sports industry consultants Deloitte estimate that Manchester United has 75 million fans worldwide. The club has the third highest social media after in the world among sports teams (after Barcelona and Real Madrid), with over 82 million Facebook followers as of July 2023. A 2014 study showed that Manchester United had the loudest fans in the Premier League. 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). After the Glazer family's takeover in 2005, a group of fans formed a splinter club, F.C. United of Manchester. The West Stand of Old Trafford – the "Stretford End" – is the home end and the traditional source of the club's most vocal support. In March 2025, Manchester United officially launched their first Jewish supporters’ club. The club also welcomed the "Stretford Sikhs", a non-geographic official supporters' club for Sikhs during the same year.

Rivalries§

Manchester United has high-profile rivalries with Liverpool and local neighbours Manchester City. The club has also had rivalries throughout its history with the likes of Arsenal, Leeds United and Chelsea.

The matches against Manchester City are known as the Manchester derby, as they are the two most important teams in the city of Manchester. It is regarded as one of the biggest local derbies in British football, particularly after City's rise to prominence in the 2010s and the two clubs fighting for trophies, such as the league title in 2012 and 2013, along with two consecutive FA Cup finals in 2023 and 2024. 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 leading port. The two clubs are the most successful in the history of English football; between them they have won 40 league titles, 9 European Cups, 21 FA Cups, 16 League Cups, 4 UEFA Cup/Europa Leagues, 2 FIFA Club World Cups, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 37 FA Community Shields and 5 UEFA Super Cups. Ranked the two biggest clubs in England by France Football magazine based on metrics such as fanbase and historical importance, matches between Manchester United and Liverpool are considered to be the most famous fixture in English football and one of the biggest rivalries in the football world. As a result of the intensity of the rivalry no player has transferred directly between the clubs since 1964. Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said in 2002, "My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch". 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. The rivalry with Arsenal arose from the many times the two teams battled for the Premier League title, especially under managers Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, who also had a heated personal rivalry. The fixture for part of this period was described as a "blockbuster".

Global brand§

Manchester United has since been described as a global brand; a 2011 report by Brand Finance, valued the club's trademarks and associated intellectual property at £412 million – an increase of £39 million on the previous year, valuing it at £11 million more than the second best brand, Real Madrid – and gave the brand a strength rating of AAA (Extremely Strong). Manchester United was ranked first by Forbes magazine in its list of the ten most valuable sports team brands, valuing the Manchester United brand at $2.23 billion in July 2012. The club is ranked third in the Deloitte Football Money League (behind Real Madrid and Barcelona). The club became the first sports team in the world to be valued at $3 billion in January 2013. Forbes magazine valued the club at $3.3 billion – $1.2 billion higher than the next most valuable sports team. They were overtaken by Real Madrid for the next four years, but Manchester United returned to the top of the Forbes list in June 2017, with a valuation of $3.689 billion.

The core strength of Manchester United's global brand is often attributed to Matt Busby's rebuilding of the team and subsequent success after the Munich air disaster, which drew worldwide acclaim. The "iconic" team included Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles (members of England's World Cup-winning team), Denis Law and George Best. The attacking style of play adopted by this team (in contrast to the defensive-minded "catenaccio" approach favoured by the leading Italian teams of the era) "captured the imagination of the English footballing public". Busby's team also became associated with the liberalisation of Western society during the 1960s; George Best, known as the "Fifth Beatle" for his iconic haircut, was the first footballer to significantly develop an off-the-field media profile. As the second English football club to float on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club raised substantial capital, with which it further developed its commercial strategy. The club's focus on commercial and sporting success brought substantial profits in an industry often characterised by chronic losses. The strength of the Manchester United brand was bolstered by intense off-the-field media attention to individual players, most in particular David Beckham (who quickly developed his own global brand). This attention often generates greater interest in on-the-field activities, and hence generates sponsorship opportunities – the value of which is driven by television exposure. During his time with the club, Beckham's popularity across Asia was integral to the club's commercial success in that part of the world. Because higher league placement results in a greater share of television rights, success on the field generates greater income for the club. Since the inception of the Premier League, Manchester United has gained the largest share of the revenue generated from the BSkyB broadcasting deal. Manchester United has also consistently enjoyed the highest commercial income of any English club; in 2005–06, the club's commercial arm generated £51 million, compared to £42.5 million at Chelsea, £39.3 million at Liverpool, £34 million at Arsenal and £27.9 million at Newcastle United. A key sponsorship relationship was with sportswear company Nike, who managed the club's merchandising operation as part of a £303 million 13-year partnership between 2002 and 2015. Through Manchester United Finance and the club's membership scheme, One United, those with an affinity for the club can buy a range of branded goods and services. Also, Manchester United-branded media services – such as the club's dedicated television channel, MUTV – have allowed the club to expand its fan base to those beyond the reach of its Old Trafford stadium.