Manchester City F.C. facts for kids
 |
||||
| Full name | Manchester City Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Citizens (Cityzens) The Blues The Sky Blues |
|||
| Short name | Man City City |
|||
| Founded | 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton) | |||
| Ground | City of Manchester Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 53,400 | |||
| Coordinates | 53°29′00″N 2°12′01″W / 53.4832°N 2.2003°W | |||
| Owner | City Football Group Limited | |||
| Chairman | Khaldoon Al Mubarak | |||
| Manager | Pep Guardiola | |||
| League | Premier League | |||
| 2018–19 | Premier League, 1st of 20 (champions) | |||
|
||||
Manchester City Football Club is a professional football team from Manchester, England. They play in the Premier League, which is the top football league in England. The club started in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton) and later became Manchester City in 1894.
Their home stadium is the Etihad Stadium in east Manchester. They moved there in 2003, after playing at Maine Road since 1923. Manchester City's home shirts are sky blue and white.
Over the years, Manchester City has won many important trophies. These include ten league titles, seven FA Cups, eight League Cups, and a UEFA Champions League title. They also won the European Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
The club joined the Football League in 1892. They won their first big trophy, the FA Cup, in 1904. Manchester City had a very successful time in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They won the league, FA Cup, League Cup, and European Cup Winners' Cup.
After a tough period in the 1980s and 1990s, the club was bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2008. This brought a lot of money for new players and facilities. Since then, Manchester City has become one of the most successful teams in the world. They won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League in 2012.
Under manager Pep Guardiola, Manchester City has won many more titles. In 2018, they won the Premier League with a record 100 points. In the 2018–19 season, they won four trophies in England, which was a first for an English men's team. They also won four Premier League titles in a row from 2020–21 to 2023–24. In the 2022–23 season, Manchester City won their first ever European Cup (Champions League). They also won the FA Cup and Premier League that season, completing a special "continental treble."
Manchester City is one of the richest football clubs in the world. In 2022, Forbes magazine said the club was worth over $4 billion. The club is owned by City Football Group Limited.
Contents
Club History
Early Success and Challenges
Manchester City won their first major trophy, the FA Cup, in 1904. They beat Bolton Wanderers 1–0. This made them the first club in Manchester to win a major honour.
After this success, some players were suspended in 1906 due to money issues. In 1920, a fire destroyed the main stand at their home ground, Hyde Road. So, in 1923, the club moved to a new stadium called Maine Road in Moss Side.
In the 1930s, Manchester City reached two FA Cup finals. They lost in 1933 but won in 1934, beating Portsmouth. During the 1934 FA Cup run, a record 84,569 fans watched a game at Maine Road. This was the highest home attendance for any English club until 2016. The club won the top league title for the first time in 1937. However, they were surprisingly relegated the next season, even though they scored more goals than any other team.
Twenty years later, in the 1950s, City reached two more FA Cup finals. They lost in 1955 but won in 1956 against Birmingham City. In the 1956 final, City's goalkeeper, Bert Trautmann, famously kept playing even after unknowingly breaking his neck!
A Golden Era and Decline
After being relegated in 1963, the club had a tough time. In 1965, Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison became the new managers. They helped the team win the Second Division title and signed important players like Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell.
Two seasons later, in 1967–68, City won the top league title for the second time. They beat their rivals Manchester United on the very last day of the season. More trophies followed: the FA Cup in 1969, and then the European Cup Winners' Cup and the League Cup in 1970. This made them the second English team to win a European trophy and a domestic trophy in the same season.
City continued to play well in the 1970s. One famous match was against Manchester United in 1974. Former United player Denis Law scored against his old team, which helped confirm United's relegation. City won their last trophy of this golden era in 1976, the League Cup.
After this, the club went through a long period of decline. They were relegated from the top league twice in the 1980s. In 1992, Manchester City was one of the founding clubs of the new Premier League. However, they struggled and were relegated again in 1996. In 1998, they fell to the third tier of English football, which was the lowest point in their history.
Recovery and New Ownership
After being relegated to the third division, the club started to recover. Under manager Joe Royle, City won promotion back to the second division in 1999 in a very exciting play-off final. They were promoted again the next season, returning to the top league. But they were relegated once more in 2001.
Kevin Keegan became manager and quickly led the team back to the top division in 2002. The 2002–03 season was their last at Maine Road. They beat Manchester United 3–1 in a derby game, ending a 13-year wait for a derby win. In 2003, the club moved to the new City of Manchester Stadium.
In 2008, Thaksin Shinawatra sold the club to the Abu Dhabi United Group. This takeover changed everything for Manchester City. The new owners invested a huge amount of money. They immediately signed big players like Robinho from Real Madrid. This investment helped the club become much stronger.
The Second Golden Era and Pep Guardiola
The money invested in new players quickly led to success. City reached the FA Cup final in 2011, their first major final in over 30 years. They beat Stoke City 1–0 to win the FA Cup.
The 2011–12 season was incredibly exciting. City had a great season, including a 6–1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. On the last day of the season, City needed to win at home against Queens Park Rangers to win the league. They were losing 1–2 as the game ended, but then scored two goals in injury time! The second goal, by Sergio Agüero, won the Premier League title for City in the very last seconds. It was the first time a team won the Premier League based on goal difference.
After a less successful season in 2012–13, Manuel Pellegrini became manager. In his first year, City won the League Cup and the Premier League title again in 2014.
In 2016, Pep Guardiola, a famous manager from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, took over. His first season was without a trophy, but the next season, 2017–18, was amazing. City won the Premier League title with the highest points total ever (100 points) and broke many other records.
This was the start of a truly special time for Manchester City under Guardiola. Between 2017–18 and 2023–24, City won six out of seven possible league titles. They also won the League Cup four times in a row from 2018 to 2021. In the 2018–19 season, City won all three major English trophies (Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup), plus the Community Shield. This was the first time any English men's team had done this.
In 2020–21, City reached their first ever Champions League final, but lost to Chelsea. However, the 2022–23 season became the best in the club's history. Manchester City won their third Premier League title in a row, beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final, and won their first ever Champions League title. This meant they won the "continental treble" (league, main domestic cup, and Champions League), becoming only the second English club to do so. The following season, they won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup for the first time. They also became the first English men's club to win four league titles in a row.
The club has faced investigations regarding financial rules. In 2023, the Premier League announced its own investigation into 115 alleged rule breaches by Manchester City.
League History Overview
This table shows which league division Manchester City played in each year:
|
|
|
|
|
Club Badge and Colours
Manchester City's home colours are sky blue and white. Their away kit colours have often been maroon or red and black. The club has worn blue since at least 1892. Early reports from 1884 describe the team wearing black shirts with a white cross, showing their beginnings as a church team.
.jpg)
The use of red and black away colours came from former assistant manager Malcolm Allison. He believed that using the colours of AC Milan would help City win. This seemed to work, as City won several trophies in red and black stripes in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
City has had different badges on their shirts. The current badge, introduced in 2016, is circular. It includes a ship, which represents Manchester's history as a port city with the Manchester Ship Canal. It also has three diagonal stripes that stand for the city's three rivers: the Irwell, Irk, and Medlock. The badge also features the Lancashire Rose.
Kit Suppliers and Shirt Sponsors
| Period | Kit supplier | Shirt sponsor (chest) | Shirt sponsor (sleeve) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–1982 | Umbro | No sponsor | No sponsor |
| 1982–1984 | Saab | ||
| 1984–1987 | Philips | ||
| 1987–1997 | Brother | ||
| 1997–1999 | Kappa | ||
| 1999–2002 | Le Coq Sportif | Eidos | |
| 2002–2003 | First Advice | ||
| 2003–2004 | Reebok | ||
| 2004–2007 | Thomas Cook | ||
| 2007–2009 | Le Coq Sportif | ||
| 2009–2013 | Umbro | Etihad Airways | |
| 2013–2017 | Nike | ||
| 2017–2019 | Nexen Tire | ||
| 2019–2023 | Puma | ||
| 2023–present | OKX |
Kit Deals
| Kit supplier | Period | Announcement date | Intended contract duration | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
2007–2011 (4 years) | Around £2.5m per year | Replaced by Umbro contract |
|
|
|
|
2009–2019 (10 years) | Around £2.5m per year | Umbro contract transferred to parent company Nike in 2013 |
|
|
|
|
2013–2019 (6 years) | Around £20m per year | |
|
|
|
|
2019–2029 (10 years) | Around £65m per year |
Players
First-Team Squad
|
|
Young Players and Loans
Some young players from the club's academy have played for the first team or been on the bench.
|
|
These players are currently playing for other clubs on loan:
|
|
Retired Numbers
Since 2003, Manchester City has not used the squad number 23. It was retired to remember Marc-Vivien Foé. He was playing for the club when he sadly passed away on the field while playing for his country, Cameroon, in 2003.
|
Club Captains
The club captain is a player chosen to lead the team. Here is a list of Manchester City's official club captains:
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Player of the Year Awards
Each season, Manchester City fans vote for the player they think performed best. Here are the winners since 2000:
|
|
|
Non-Playing Staff
Executive Team
These are some of the important people who run Manchester City Football Club:
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Khaldoon Al Mubarak |
| Chief Executive Officer |  Ferran Soriano |
| Director of Football | Txiki Begiristain Hugo Viana |
| Club ambassadors |  Mike Summerbee Paul Dickov Micah Richards Pablo Zabaleta Joleon Lescott Shaun Wright-Phillips |
Coaching Staff
This is the team of coaches who work with the players:
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Pep Guardiola |
| Assistant managers | Carlos Vicens Juanma Lillo |
| Fitness coach | Lorenzo Buenaventura |
| Head of goalkeeping | Xabier Mancisidor |
| Goalkeeper coach | Richard Wright |
| Performance analysis coach | Carles Planchart |
| Head of player support | Manel Estiarte |
| Head of academy |  Thomas Krucken |
| Under-23 EDS manager | Ben Wilkinson |
| Under-23 EDS assistant manager | Craig Mudd |
| Under-23 GK coach | Imanol Egaña |
| Under-18 Academy manager | Oliver Reiss |
| Under-18 Academy assistant manager | Jamie Carr |
| Under-18 Academy assistant manager |  Richard Dunne |
| Under-18 Academy GK coach | Max Johnson |
| Chief scout |  Carlo Cancellieri |
Managers Who Won Trophies
Here are the managers who have won major trophies for Manchester City:
| Name | From | To | Matches | Wins | Draws | Loss | Win % | Honours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tom Maley |
1902 | 1906 | 150 | 89 | 22 | 39 | 59.33 | 1903–04 FA Cup | |
|
Wilf Wild |
1932 | 1946 | 352 | 158 | 71 | 123 | 44.89 | 1933–34 FA Cup | 1936–37 First Division |
|
Les McDowall |
1950 | 1963 | 592 | 220 | 127 | 245 | 37.16 | 1955–56 FA Cup | |
|
Joe Mercer |
1965 | 1971 | 340 | 149 | 94 | 97 | 43.82 | 1967–68 First Division 1968 FA Charity Shield 1968–69 FA Cup |
1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup 1969–70 League Cup |
|
Tony Book |
1973 | 1980 | 269 | 114 | 75 | 80 | 42.38 | 1975–76 League Cup | |
|
Roberto Mancini |
2009 | 2013 | 191 | 113 | 38 | 40 | 59.16 | 2010–11 FA Cup 2011–12 Premier League |
2012 FA Community Shield |
 Manuel Pellegrini |
2013 | 2016 | 167 | 100 | 28 | 39 | 59.88 | 2013–14 League Cup 2013–14 Premier League |
2015–16 League Cup |
|
Pep Guardiola |
2016 | incumbent | 526 | 371 | 77 | 78 | 70.53 | 2017–18 League Cup 2017–18 Premier League 2018 FA Community Shield 2018–19 League Cup 2018–19 Premier League 2018–19 FA Cup 2019 FA Community Shield 2019–20 League Cup 2020–21 League Cup |
2020–21 Premier League 2021–22 Premier League 2022–23 Premier League 2022–23 FA Cup 2022–23 UEFA Champions League 2023 UEFA Super Cup 2023 FIFA Club World Cup 2023–24 Premier League 2024 FA Community Shield |
Supporters
Manchester City has a large and loyal fanbase. Since moving to the Etihad Stadium, their average attendance is usually over 40,000, placing them among the top six clubs in England. Even when the club was in the third tier of English football in the late 1990s, around 30,000 fans still came to home games.
City fans love to sing "Blue Moon" during matches. They also have a saying, "typical City," for when the team does something unexpected. For example, in 1938, City was the only reigning English champion ever to be relegated.
In the late 1980s, City fans started a fun trend of bringing inflatable objects, especially oversized bananas, to matches. This craze spread to other clubs too! In 2010, City supporters started doing a dance called The Poznań, which they learned from fans of a Polish club called Lech Poznań.
Rivalries
Manchester City's biggest rivalry is with their neighbours, Manchester United. This match is known as the Manchester derby. For a long time, many people in Manchester supported both teams. But as football became more popular and travel easier, the rivalry grew stronger. A common idea is that City fans are mostly from Manchester itself, while United fans come from other places.
.jpg)
In recent years, Manchester City has also developed a strong rivalry with Liverpool. This is now considered one of the biggest rivalries in football. The two clubs have battled for the Premier League title many times, often with very close finishes. For example, in 2014, City won the title by just two points over Liverpool. They also met in the League Cup final in 2016, which City won.
The success of both teams in the 2010s and 2020s has also created a rivalry between their managers, Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Pep Guardiola (Manchester City). Guardiola has called Klopp's Liverpool team "the strongest opponents I have faced." In a 2019 survey, City fans even said that Liverpool, not Manchester United, was their biggest rival.
Manchester City also has local rivalries with clubs like Bolton Wanderers, Oldham Athletic, and Stockport County. They also have more recent rivalries in the Premier League with teams like Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Ownership and Finances
Manchester City Football Club is owned by a company called Manchester City Limited. Since 2007, the club has been privately owned. In 2008, the Abu Dhabi United Group bought Manchester City. This deal was worth a lot of money, around £200 million. It allowed the club to spend a lot on new players, like Robinho for a British record fee of £32.5 million. This huge investment helped Manchester City become a top club.
City Football Group
In 2013–14, the Abu Dhabi United Group created the City Football Group (CFG). This company manages football clubs around the world. CFG owns parts of many clubs to share resources, develop young players, and for marketing.
Clubs Owned by CFG
Through City Football Group, Manchester City owns stakes in these clubs:
Melbourne City FC (Australia)
Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan)
New York City FC (USA)
Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay)- Girona FC (Spain)
Shenzhen Peng City (China)
Mumbai City FC (India)
Lommel S.K. (Belgium)
Troyes AC (France)- Palermo FC (Italy)
Bahia (Brazil)
Partner Clubs
CFG also has partner clubs, which means they work together:
Club Bolívar (Bolivia)- Vannes OC (France)
Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium is in east Manchester. It's known as the Etihad Stadium because of a sponsorship deal since 2011. Manchester City has been playing here since 2003. Before moving, the club spent over £30 million to change the stadium for football. They lowered the pitch and added more seats. The first game at the new stadium was a friendly match against Barcelona, which City won 2–1. The stadium can hold 53,400 fans. There are plans to expand it to around 61,000 seats.
Before the Etihad, the club played at five different stadiums between 1880 and 1887. Then they settled at Hyde Road Football Stadium for 36 years. After a fire in 1920, the club moved to the much larger Maine Road in 1923. Maine Road was nicknamed the "Wembley of the North." It held the record for the largest crowd at an English club ground, with 84,569 fans for an FA Cup game in 1934. Maine Road was used for 80 years before City moved to the City of Manchester Stadium in 2003.
Honours
Manchester City is one of the most successful teams in England. They have won 36 major trophies in England, Europe, and worldwide. This puts them fourth on the list of most decorated English clubs.
Their first major trophy was the FA Cup in 1904. They won their first top league title in the 1936–37 season. City won their first League Cup and first European trophy in the 1969–70 season. In the 2018–19 season, City became the first team to win all four major English trophies in one season: the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Community Shield.
The Cup Winners' Cup was City's only European trophy for a long time. Then, in the 2022–23 season, they won their first ever Champions League title. They have reached the Champions League semi-finals four times.
Manchester City has also won the second division title seven times. Their first win was in 1898–99, and the most recent was in 2001–02.
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | First Division/Premier League | 10 | 1936–37, 1967–68, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 |
| Second Division | 7 | 1898–99, 1902–03, 1909–10, 1927–28, 1946–47, 1965–66, 2001–02 | |
| FA Cup | 7 | 1903–04, 1933–34, 1955–56, 1968–69, 2010–11, 2018–19, 2022–23 | |
| Football League Cup/EFL Cup | 8 | 1969–70, 1975–76, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 | |
| FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield | 7 | 1937, 1968, 1972, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2024 | |
| Continental | European Cup/UEFA Champions League | 1 | 2022–23 |
| European Cup Winners' Cup | 1 | 1969–70 | |
| UEFA Super Cup | 1 | 2023 | |
| Worldwide | FIFA Club World Cup | 1 | 2023 |
Winning Multiple Trophies
- Doubles (winning two major trophies in one season):
- League and UEFA Champions League (1): 2022–23
- League and FA Cup (2): 2018–19, 2022–23
- League and League Cup (4): 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21
- League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1969–70
- Continental Treble (winning the league, main domestic cup, and Champions League):
- League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League (1): 2022–23
- Domestic Treble (winning the league, FA Cup, and League Cup):
- League, FA Cup, and League Cup (1): 2018–19
Club Records
- Biggest league win – 11–3 vs Lincoln City (1895); 10–0 vs Darwen (1899)
- Biggest FA Cup win – 12–0 vs Liverpool Stanley (1890)
- Biggest European win – 7–0 vs Schalke 04 (2019); 7–0 vs RB Leipzig (2023)
- Biggest league defeat – 0–8 vs Burton Wanderers (1894); 0–8 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (1933); 1–9 vs Everton (1906); 2–10 vs Small Heath (1893)
- Biggest FA Cup defeat – 0–6 vs Preston North End (1897); 2–8 vs Bradford Park Avenue (1946)
- Biggest European defeat – 0–4 vs Barcelona (2016)
- Highest home attendance – 84,569 vs Stoke City (1934)
- Most league games played – 561, Alan Oakes, 1958–76
- Most European/worldwide games played – 79, Bernardo Silva, 2017–present
- Most games played overall – 680, Alan Oakes, 1958–76
- Most goals scored overall – 260, Sergio Agüero, 2011–21
- Most goals scored in one season – 52, Erling Haaland, 2022–23
- Record transfer fee paid – £100 million for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, August 2021
- Record transfer fee received – £82 million from Atlético Madrid for Julián Álvarez, August 2024
Images for kids
-
The Manchester City team which won the FA Cup in 1903–04.
-
Chart of yearly table positions of City in the Football League
-
Manchester City's stadium and shirt have been sponsored by Etihad Airways since 2009.
-
Manchester City supporters invade the pitch following their 2011–12 Premier League title victory.
-
Manchester City moved into their new complex at the Etihad Campus adjacent to the City of Manchester Stadium in 2014.
-
The Manchester City team, with mascots, about to face Southampton in the 2022–23 Premier League.
-
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak
-
Pep Guardiola has been the manager of the club since 2016.
-
The Manchester derby in the 2021–22 Premier League, 6 November 2021
-
The City of Manchester Stadium – the home of Manchester City since 2003
