Early years and first trophies on the shirts is now unknown.|alt=Fifteen men posing across three rows. Eleven of the men are wearing a football kit with a Maltese Cross on the breast. The other four are wearing suits and top hats. City gained their first honours by winning the
Second Division in
1899; with it came promotion to the highest level in English football, the
First Division. They went on to claim their first major honour on
23 April 1904, beating
Bolton Wanderers 1–0 at
Crystal Palace to win the
FA Cup; the Blues narrowly missed out on a
League and Cup double that season after finishing runners-up in the
league campaign, but they still became the first club in Manchester to win a major honour. In the seasons following the FA Cup triumph, the club was dogged by allegations of financial irregularities, culminating in the suspension of seventeen players in 1906, including captain
Billy Meredith, who subsequently moved across town to
Manchester United. A fire at
Hyde Road destroyed the main stand in 1920, and in 1923 the club moved to their new purpose-built stadium at
Maine Road in
Moss Side. .|alt=A group of thirteen men, eleven in association football attire typical of the early twentieth century, and two in suits. A trophy sits in front of them. In the 1930s, Manchester City reached two consecutive FA Cup finals, losing to
Everton in
1933, before claiming the Cup by beating
Portsmouth in
1934. During the 1934 run, the club broke the record for the
highest home attendance of any club in English football history, as 84,569 fans packed Maine Road for a sixth-round FA Cup tie against
Stoke City – a record which stood until 2016. The club won the First Division title for the first time in 1937, but were relegated the following season, despite scoring more goals than any other team in the division. Twenty years later, a City team inspired by a tactical system known as the
Revie Plan reached consecutive FA Cup finals again, in
1955 and
1956; just as in the 1930s, they lost the first one, to
Newcastle United, and won the second. The 1956 final, in which the Blues defeated
Birmingham City 3–1, saw City goalkeeper
Bert Trautmann continuing to play on after unknowingly breaking his neck.
First golden era and subsequent decline After being relegated to the Second Division in
1963, the future looked bleak with a record low home attendance of 8,015 against
Swindon Town in January 1965. In the summer of 1965, the management team of
Joe Mercer and
Malcolm Allison was appointed. In the first season under Mercer, Manchester City won the
Second Division title and made important signings in
Mike Summerbee and
Colin Bell. Two seasons later, in
1967–68, City claimed the
league championship for the second time, beating their close neighbours Manchester United to the title on the final day of the season with a 4–3 victory at Newcastle United. Further trophies followed: City won the FA Cup in
1969 and a year later triumphed in the
European Cup Winners' Cup, defeating
Górnik Zabrze 2–1 in the
1970 final. This was the club's only European honour until their triumph in the
2022–23 UEFA Champions League. The Blues also won the
League Cup that year, becoming the second English team to win a European trophy and a domestic trophy in the same season. The club continued to challenge for honours throughout the 1970s, finishing one point behind the league champions on two occasions and reaching the
final of the
1974 League Cup. One of the matches from this period that is most fondly remembered by supporters of Manchester City is the final match of the
1973–74 season against
arch-rivals Manchester United, who needed to win to have any hope of avoiding relegation. Former United player
Denis Law scored with a backheel to give City a 1–0 win at Old Trafford and confirm the relegation of their rivals. The final trophy of the club's most successful period of the 20th century was won in 1976, when Newcastle United were beaten 2–1 in the
League Cup final. A long period of decline followed the success of the 1960s and 1970s. Malcolm Allison rejoined the club to become manager for the second time in 1979, but squandered large sums of money on several unsuccessful signings, such as
Steve Daley. A succession of managers then followed – seven in the 1980s alone. Under
John Bond, City reached the
1981 FA Cup final but lost in a replay to
Tottenham Hotspur. The club were twice relegated from the top flight in the 1980s (in
1983 and
1987), but returned to the top flight again in
1989 under
Mel Machin.
Howard Kendall guided the club to top flight safety in
1990 and the club finished fifth in
1991 and
1992 under the management of active player
Peter Reid. However, this was only a temporary respite, and following Reid's departure Manchester City's fortunes continued to fade. City were co-founders of the
Premier League upon its creation in
1992, but after finishing ninth in its first season,
Peter Swales, club chairman since 1973, was replaced by club legend
Francis Lee in February 1994 in a movement supported by fans. Despite this, they endured three years of struggle under
Brian Horton and
Alan Ball Jr. before being relegated in dramatic fashion in
1996. After two seasons in the First Division and four different permanent managers, Lee resigned from his role as chairman midway through the
1998 season, although remained as a shareholder, as City fell to the lowest point in their history, becoming the second ever European trophy winners to be relegated to their country's third-tier league after
1. FC Magdeburg of Germany.
Recovery and two takeovers After relegation, the club underwent off-the-field upheaval, with new chairman
David Bernstein introducing greater fiscal discipline. Under manager
Joe Royle, City were promoted at the first attempt, achieved in dramatic fashion in the
Second Division play-off final against
Gillingham. A
second successive promotion saw City return to the top division, but this proved to have been a step too far for the recovering club, and in
2001 City were relegated once more.
Kevin Keegan replaced Royle as manager in the close season, and achieved an immediate return to the top division as the club won the
2001–02 First Division championship, breaking club records for the number of points gained and goals scored in a single season in the process. The
2002–03 season was the last at Maine Road and included a 3–1 derby victory over rivals Manchester United, ending a 13-year run without a
derby win. Additionally, City qualified for European competition for the first time in 25 years via
UEFA fair play ranking. In the close
2003–04 season, the club moved to the new
City of Manchester Stadium. The first four seasons at the stadium all resulted in mid-table finishes. Former England manager
Sven-Göran Eriksson became the club's first foreign manager when appointed in
2007. After a bright start, performances faded in the second half of the season, and Eriksson was sacked on 2 June 2008; he was replaced by
Mark Hughes two days later. By 2008, Manchester City were in a financially precarious position. Former Thai prime minister
Thaksin Shinawatra had taken control of the club the year before, but his political travails saw his assets frozen. Then, in August 2008, City were purchased by the
Abu Dhabi United Group. The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile players; the club broke the British transfer record by signing
Brazilian international Robinho from
Real Madrid for £32.5 million (€42.5 million). There was not a huge improvement in performance compared to the previous season despite the influx of money however, with the team
finishing tenth, although they did well to reach the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Cup. During the summer of 2009, the club took transfer spending to an unprecedented level, with an outlay of over £100 million on players
Gareth Barry,
Roque Santa Cruz,
Kolo Touré,
Emmanuel Adebayor,
Carlos Tevez, and
Joleon Lescott. In December 2009, Mark Hughes – who had been hired shortly before the change in ownership but was originally retained by the new board – was replaced as manager by
Roberto Mancini. City finished the
season in fifth position in the
Premier League, narrowly missing out on a place in the
Champions League but qualifying for the
UEFA Europa League.
Second golden era and arrival of Pep Guardiola Continued investment in players followed in successive seasons, and results began to match the upturn in player quality. After heavy speculation, Roberto Mancini confirmed that a move of
Edin Džeko from
Wolfsburg for a fee of £27 million (€32 million) had been agreed on 3 January 2011. This was City's second highest transfer figure, after Robinho's move from Real Madrid for £32.5 million in 2008. The transfer fee was the sixth highest in Premier League history at the time. City reached the
FA Cup final in 2011, their first major final in over 30 years, after defeating derby rivals Manchester United in the semi-finals, the first time they had knocked their rival out of a cup competition since 1975. The Blues defeated
Stoke City 1–0 in the final, securing their fifth FA Cup and the club's first major trophy since winning the 1976 League Cup. On the last day of the
2010–11 season, City beat out
Arsenal for the third place, thereby securing qualification directly into the Champions League group stage.
invade the pitch following their
2011–12 Premier League title victory. Strong performances continued to follow in the
2011–12 season, including a 5–1 victory over Tottenham at
White Hart Lane and a record-equalling
6–1 win over Manchester United at
Old Trafford, but a poor run of form in the second half of the season left City in second place, eight points behind United with only six games left to play. At this point, United suffered their own loss of form, dropping eight points in the space of four games, while City began a run of successive wins which saw both teams level on points with two games to go. Despite the Blues only needing a home win against
Queens Park Rangers, a team in the relegation zone, they fell 1–2 behind by the end of normal time. However, two goals in injury time –
the second by Sergio Agüero in the fourth added minute – settled the title in City's favour, making them the first team to win the Premier League on goal difference alone. The
following season, City were unable to replicate the previous year's success. After finishing second in the
league, eleven points behind Manchester United, and losing the
FA Cup final 0–1 to relegated
Wigan Athletic, Mancini was sacked. He was replaced by Chilean manager
Manuel Pellegrini. In Pellegrini's
first year in charge, City won the
League Cup and regained the
Premier League title on the last matchday of the season. The team's league form then slowly declined over the next couple of years, as the Blues finished second in
2014–15 and then dropped to fourth in
2015–16, although the
2015–16 season would see City win
another League Cup title and reach the
Champions League semi-finals for the first time. adjacent to the City of Manchester Stadium in 2014.
Pep Guardiola, former head coach of
Barcelona and
Bayern Munich, was confirmed to become Manchester City's new manager on 1 February 2016, with the announcement having been made several months before Manuel Pellegrini left his position. Guardiola's
first season in Manchester would end trophyless, with the Blues placing third in the
league standings, but the
following season proved far more successful, as City won the
Premier League title with the highest points total in history and broke numerous other
club and
English league records along the way. This would prove to be the start of a period of unprecedented success for Manchester City under Guardiola. Between the 2017–18 and
2023–24 Premier League seasons, City won six out of possible seven league titles, only finishing second behind
Liverpool in the
2019–20 season. Guardiola also guided the Blues to silverware in domestic cup competitions, highlighted by four consecutive League Cup triumphs in
2018–
2021. During the
2018–19 season, City completed an unprecedented
domestic treble of English men's titles. Apart from winning all three of the major English football tournaments, they also won the
Community Shield, the first time any team has ever held all four of England's primary football trophies at the same time. On the continental stage, the club achieved breakthrough in
2020–21, reaching their first-ever
Champions League final. In an all-English affair, City lost 0–1 to
Chelsea at the
Estádio do Dragão in
Porto. s, about to face
Southampton in the
2022–23 Premier League. From left to right on back row: Moonchester,
Manuel Akanji,
Nathan Aké,
Ederson,
Rodri,
Rúben Dias,
Phil Foden,
Kevin De Bruyne,
João Cancelo,
Riyad Mahrez,
Bernardo Silva,
Erling Haaland, and Moonbeam. The
2022–23 season turned out to be the greatest in the club's history, as Manchester City won their third consecutive
Premier League title, the
FA Cup final against rivals Manchester United, and their maiden
Champions League title at the
Atatürk Olympic Stadium in
Istanbul against
Inter Milan, thereby assembling a rare feat – the
continental treble. The road to the Champions League victory included wins over European giants Bayern Munich, who were defeated 4–1 on aggregate, and Real Madrid, who suffered a 1–5 aggregate loss at the hands of City. The
following season saw considerably less success for the Blues, as they won the
UEFA Super Cup and
FIFA Club World Cup for the first time and became the first English men's club to claim four consecutive league titles with another
Premier League title. City also advanced to the
FA Cup final for the second straight year but lost in a rematch to rivals Manchester United. The
2024–25 season turned out to expose major flaws in City's aging squad, as the Blues managed to win only the
Community Shield in another rematch against United. They also advanced to their third consecutive
FA Cup final but lost to
Crystal Palace. Manchester City's era of sustained competitive excellence coincided with charges of breaching
Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. In 2020, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that sanctions placed on the club by
UEFA were not justified, overturning City's two-year European ban. In 2023, the Premier League announced its own investigation of the allegations levied against Manchester City, charging the club with 130 breaches of its FFP rules up to the 2017–18 season.
League history ==Club badge and colours==