2012–13 Premier League

One last crowning, one last farewell—Fergie's final bow on the grandest stage.

The 2012–13 Premier League season is remembered as the swan song of one of football's greatest managers. Sir Alex Ferguson, who had steered Manchester United since 1986, guided the Red Devils to their tenth Premier League title in a campaign defined by late-season drama and the quiet, determined excellence of a squad that refused to let the crown slip away.

It was also the season Robin van Persie, the Dutch striker signed from Arsenal the previous January, silenced his doubters with a Golden Boot-winning 26-goal haul. Against the backdrop of Manchester City's relentless title challenge, United's triumph on the final afternoon at St Mary's became the emotional crescendo to an era that had spanned nearly three decades.

Last updated 2026-10-03 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Competition

Premier League

Pixels

300

Dates

18 August 2012 – 19 May 2013

Winners

Manchester United
13th Premier League title
20th English title

Relegated

Wigan Athletic
Reading
Queens Park Rangers

Matches

380

Total goals

1063

Facts from the source article.

Background

For two years, Manchester United had been the bridesmaid to Manchester City's 2011–12 coronation. The 2012–13 campaign carried the weight of redemption, but more than that, it carried the weight of legacy. Ferguson, now in his late sixties, was managing not just for a trophy but for a final chapter in the story of his life's work. The squad he fielded—Young, Jones, Evans, Smalling, De Gea in goal, with Kagawa and Chicharito providing creative and finishing flair around Van Persie's central presence—was not the most glamorous in the league, but it was ferociously competitive and deeply bonded.

The season's narrative arc was one of steady accumulation. United never looked like they would collapse, but they never looked invincible either. Van Persie's goals were the engine: clinical, often counter-attacking, the kind of finishing that made the difference in tight affairs. The Dutchman's 26-goal tally was not just a personal triumph but a statement that the January 2012 transfer that had drawn ridicule from Arsenal fans was, in fact, a masterstroke.

The final stretch saw the title race compress into a knife-edge contest with City, and the season's climax arrived on the last afternoon: United needed a result at Southampton to guarantee the crown. The 2–1 victory, sealed in a tense, end-to-end affair, sent Ferguson into the dugout to collect a trophy for the final time and walk off a pitch he had dominated for a generation. The image of the old man, still sharp-eyed, still demanding, lifting that silverware one last time, became the defining visual of the season and of an entire era.

Did You Know?

Sir Alex Ferguson's final match as Manchester United manager was the title-deciding game at Southampton on the last day of the season—the same afternoon the crown was clinched and the era ended.
Robin van Persie, signed from Arsenal in the January 2012 transfer window amid widespread scepticism, went on to win the 2012–13 Golden Boot with 26 goals, vindicating the transfer in emphatic fashion.
The 2012–13 title was Manchester United's tenth Premier League championship, capping a run of dominance that stretched back to the league's inaugural 1992–93 season.
Ferguson had been in charge of Manchester United since 1986, making his final season one of the longest managerial tenures in top-flight English football history.