Manchester City

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The club joined the Football League in 1892, and won their first major honour, the FA Cup, in 1904. Manchester City had its first major period of success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, winning the league title, FA Cup, League Cup, and European Cup Winners Cup under the management of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison. After losing the 1981 FA Cup final, the club went through a period of decline, being relegated to the third tier of English football for the only time in their history in 1998. They regained promotion to the top tier in 1999–2000 and have remained in the Premier League since 2002–03. Manchester City received major financial investment after its August 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan through the Abu Dhabi United Group, starting a new era of success, winning the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League in 2012. Under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola between 2016 and 2026, the club won 20 honours, including the Premier League in 2018 with a record 100 points, becoming the first English men's team to win a domestic treble, claiming the three main domestic trophies as well as the Community Shield. The club also won a continental treble in 2023, and four consecutive league titles between the 2020–21 and 2023–24 seasons – an English football record.

In Their Own Story

The narrative of this rivalry is written in points, records, and dramatic final days. In the 2018–19 season, City won the league on the final day with 98 points to Liverpool's 97, securing a domestic treble while Liverpool claimed their sixth European Cup. The following year, 2019–20, saw Liverpool dominate, winning their nineteenth title with 99 points after City slipped up against Chelsea. The tension continued into 2021–22, where City again snatched the title on the final day, finishing with 93 points to Liverpool's 92. By 2022–23, City achieved a continental treble, their first Champions League win, defeating Inter Milan while knocking Liverpool out of domestic cups. The era concluded with a shift in 2025–26; for the first time since 2016–17, neither club won the Premier League as Arsenal claimed the title, though City secured the FA Cup and League Cup before Pep Guardiola's departure.

Reader's Guide

Manchester City topped the Deloitte Football Money League at the end of the 2021–22 season, making it the football club with the highest revenue in the world, approximated at €731 million. In 2022, Forbes estimated the club was the sixth-most valuable in the world, worth $4.250 billion. Manchester City are owned by City Football Group Limited, a holding company valued at £3.73 ($4.8) billion in November 2019 and majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group.

Did You Know?

• City gained their first honours by winning the Second Division in 1899.
• The club won the FA Cup for the first time in 1904, beating Bolton Wanderers 1–0.
• In 1934, City set a record home attendance of 84,569 for an FA Cup tie against Stoke City.
• Under Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, City won the league title, FA Cup, League Cup, and European Cup Winners' Cup in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
• City became the first English men's team to win a domestic treble in 2018–19.