What Are The Differences Between Manchester City and Manchester United?

Manchester is one of the sporting capitals of the UK. For a long time, the jewel in the crown was Manchester United, however, the power may be beginning to shift to the other side of the city.

Manchester is one of the sporting capitals of the UK. For a long time, the jewel in the crown was Manchester United, however, the power may be beginning to shift to the other side of the city. If you want to learn more about the two Manchester clubs, and the differences between them then you have come to the right place. 

Only 5.6 miles separate Manchester City from Manchester United and the emergence of Manchester City as a force in English football has made the rivalry all the more fierce. The Manchester derby used to be a one-sided affair, but those days are no more with both clubs now battling to be the number one club in the city. 

Since both teams are after the same goal of dominating English football, now is the perfect time to learn the differences between these two giants. 

Historical differences

The two clubs were born just two years apart, United in 1878 and City in 1880. 

Manchester United, nicknamed the ‘Red Devils’, stands as the more successful club throughout the two clubs' existence with 67 major trophies to their name, making them the second most successful team in the country and just one trophy behind arch-rivals Liverpool. The club has the most Premier League titles with 20, as well as an illustrious history that has them regarded as one of, if not the biggest, club in world football, with their famous 1998-99 treble-winning season being the highest honour in the club and something only one team has replicated since. 

Manchester City nicknamed the ‘Citizens’, have less than half the major honours of their local rivals with 33 to their name. However large the gap was, it has shrunk considerably since the Citizens' first Premier League title in 2011. Manchester City was taken over in 2008 by Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Mansour, who brought an end to the torrid recent history the Citizens had been suffering. 

The club had been relegated to as far as League One in 1998 but had recovered since, and now any thoughts of relegation are long in the memories of the City fanbase. Since 2011, City has commanded respect by first beating Manchester United in the league in the 94th minute of the final game of the season and then the 2022/23 season saw the Citizens replicate the famous treble of their local rivals. Leaving no stone unturned in their conquest to be the biggest team in Manchester.  

Team colours

A club's identity is tied to the colour the players pull on every week. Manchester, much like Liverpool, is a city of two teams, one red and one blue. Manchester United were born as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. and their colour was green and gold but after rebranding as Manchester United in 1902, they adopted the famous red.

Like United, Manchester City were known by a different name at first, going by St Mark’s West Gorton and wearing a black kit. They would rebrand as Manchester City in 1894 and adopt the sky blue kit colour that they are now infamous for. 

Home grounds

Old Trafford has been the home of Manchester United since 1910 and still stands as the second biggest football stadium in the country, behind only Wembley. Nicknamed ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ by United legend Bobby Charlton due to the club's unprecedented levels of success. Although the stadium is literally rotting due to a lack of funding from the club's owners to make the stadium what it once was, it is still a remarkable stadium. 

Manchester City played their football at Maine Road until 2003 when they moved to the then-named ‘City of Manchester Stadium’ that had been built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Following the club's takeover in 2008, the stadium was renamed the ‘Eithad Stadium’ where the club still play today. The Etihad has a capacity of 60,000, a huge upgrade from Maine Road which held 32,000. However, this is still over 20,000 fewer seats than Old Trafford.

What does the future hold?

Since the departure of United's greatest-ever manager, Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of the 2012/13 season, the club has not been the same, changing managers on the regular and not winning a Premier League since. The toxicity towards the club's owners has reached its peak in the last few years and the lack of success on the pitch, along with the domination of their two biggest rivals in Liverpool and Man City has the club floundering to get back to the top. 

In contrast, Manchester City is at the peak of its powers, they are looking to make it four Premier League titles in a row, a feat that no team has ever accomplished. They ended their European trophy drought by beating Inter Milan to complete their treble in 2022/23 and after having somehow improved their Galactico-level side even further, it'll be an incredible task for any team to topple the imperious Citizens.