Manchester United vs Manchester City

Lore & Background

The club was formed as Newton Heath LYR Football Club, the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot in Newton Heath, in 1878. It split from the railway company in 1892 and changed its name to Manchester United after being saved from bankruptcy in 1902. The club was the subject of takeover bids from Robert Maxwell in 1984 and Michael Knighton in 1989, before going public in 1991. Malcolm Glazer's stake was announced in September 2003; by the end of 2003 he had increased his shareholding to around 15%, and by October 2004 it neared 30%. In May 2005, he acquired John Magnier and J. P. McManus's 28.7% stake, pushing his own to around 57%, then took control of 75% of shares, delisting the company from the London Stock Exchange. Within a month, the Glazers took 98% ownership via Red Football, forcing a squeeze-out of the remaining 2%. The final purchase price totalled almost £800 million. Most of the capital came in the form of loans secured against the club's assets, incurring interest payments of over £60 million per annum. The remainder came in the form of PIK loans, which were later sold to hedge funds. In January 2010, the club carried out a £500 million bond issue; the PIKs stood at around £207 million by March 2010 and were paid off in November 2010. In August 2012, the Glazers sold shares in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Old Trafford is thick with tension, a silence that only exists before a storm breaks. The red seats are a sea of anticipation, while the away end buzzes with a defiant blue energy. As the players step onto the pitch, the noise erupts—a roar that vibrates through the concrete foundations. For ninety minutes, history is rewritten in every tackle and every pass. It doesn't matter if it's 1894 or last season; the moment the ball rolls to the center circle, the city forgets everything else. There are no neighbors here, only rivals fighting for the right to wear the crown of Manchester.

Reader's Guide

Some Manchester United fans opposed Glazer's takeover, particularly once they realised the level of debt the club would have to take on. Fans took to the streets to protest. Disgruntled fans launched F.C. United of Manchester in 2005, which entered the North West Counties Football League and played in the sixth tier National League North from 2015 to 2019. Since 2005, the Manchester United Supporters' Trust have worked on ways of returning ownership to supporters, including a failed attempt in 2010 to purchase the club in a billion-pound takeover bid alongside a group of wealthy fans dubbed the 'Red Knights'. Other organizations such as the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association and The 1958 have made additional attempts to varying success.

Did You Know?

• Manchester United was formed as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878.
• The club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 after being saved from bankruptcy.
• Malcolm Glazer's takeover was completed in 2005 for almost £800 million.
• F.C. United of Manchester was founded in 2005 by fans opposing the Glazer takeover.