Manchester United

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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 produce 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. In the 1998–99 season, 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 Their Own Story

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. 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. In 1968, 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.

Reader's Guide

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. 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 subsequently 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 following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield and ended with the club's first FA Cup title. Mangnall was considered a significant influence behind the team's move to Old Trafford in 1910, and Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911.

Did You Know?

• Manchester United was the highest-earning football club in the world for 2016–17, with an annual revenue of €676.3 million.
• The club was taken private in 2005 after a purchase by American businessman Malcolm Glazer valued at almost £800 million, of which over £500 million of borrowed money became the club's debt.
• In the 1998–99 season, 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.
• Eight players were killed in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958, including Duncan Edwards and Tommy Taylor.
• Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968, beating Benfica 4–1 in the final.