English Premiership

Manchester United Football Club is an English Premier League football club which plays at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. The club was formed as Newton Heath in 1878, joined the Football League in 1892, and has played in the top division of English football since 1938 with the exception of the 1974–75 season. Average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964–65.

Manchester United are the reigning English champions, having won the 2008–09 Premier League, as well as the League Cup holders. The club is one of the most successful in the history of English football and has won 26 major honours since Alex Ferguson became manager in November 1986. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1. They won a second European Cup as part of a Treble in 1999, and a third in 2008, before finishing runner-up in 2009. The club holds the joint record for the most English league titles with 18 and also holds the record for the most FA Cup wins with 11.

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world with the highest revenue of any football club, and is currently ranked as the richest and most valuable club in any sport worldwide, with an estimated value of around £1.136 billion (€1.319 billion / $1.870 billion) as of April 2009. Manchester United was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs, and its replacement, the European Club Association.

Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986, joining from Aberdeen after the departure of Ron Atkinson. The current club captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.

On loan

Reserves and academy

For the reserve and academy squads, see Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy.

Former players

For details on former players, see List of Manchester United F.C. players and Category:Manchester United F.C. players.

Club captains

Award winners

The following players have won the Ballon d'Or whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Denis Law – 1964
• Bobby Charlton – 1966
• George Best – 1968
• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008

The following players have won the European Golden Shoe whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals) – 2008

The following players have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award whilst playing for Manchester United:

• David Beckham – 1999
• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008

The following players have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award whilst playing for Manchester United:

• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008

Ladies team

Manchester United Ladies FC was founded in 1977 as Manchester United Supporters Club Ladies. They joined the Three Counties League in 1979, and became founder members of the North West Women's Regional Football League in 1989, when they officially changed their name to Manchester United Ladies FC. Although they were relegated from the league in their first season, they were promoted again the season after and went on to win the league title in 1995–96. For the 1998–99 season, the team joined the Northern Combination, two steps below the FA Women's Premier League. They were officially brought under the banner of Manchester United FC at the start of the 2001–02 season, but they were controversially disbanded before the start of the 2004–05 season for financial reasons. The decision was met with considerable criticism given the profits made by Manchester United and also due to the fact that the teams were withdrawn from all their leagues before the players were even informed of the decision. However, the club is still involved in girls' football, offering coaching to girls under the age of 16.

Club officials

• Owner: Malcolm Glazer
• Honorary president: Martin Edwards

• Co-chairmen: Joel Glazer & Avram Glazer
• Chief executive: David Gill
• Chief operating officer: Michael Bolingbroke
• Commercial director: Richard Arnold
• Executive director: Ed Woodward
• Non-executive directors: Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer & Darcie Glazer

• Directors: David Gill, Michael Edelson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Maurice Watkins
• Club secretary: Ken Ramsden (to be replaced by John Alexander from 2010–11 season)
• Assistant club secretary: Ken Merrett
• Global ambassador: Bryan Robson

• Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
• Assistant manager: Mike Phelan
• First team coach: René Meulensteen
• Goalkeeping coach: Eric Steele
• Fitness coach: Tony Strudwick
• Strength & conditioning coach: Mick Clegg
• Head of human performance: Dr. Richard Hawkins
• Reserve team manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjær
• Reserve team coach: Warren Joyce
• Chief scout: Jim Lawlor
• Chief European scout: Martin Ferguson
• Director of youth academy: Brian McClair
• Director of youth football: Jimmy Ryan
• Club doctor: Dr. Steve McNally
• Assistant club doctor: Dr. Tony Gill
• First team physiotherapist: Rob Swire

Managerial history

Main article: List of Manchester United F.C. managers

• Richest football clubs

• IMUSA
• Manchester United Supporters' Trust

• Red Issue
• United We Stand (fanzine)
• Red News

References

1. ^ "Manchester United Football Club". Premier League . http://www.premierleague.com/page/manchester-united . Retrieved 2 March 2008 .  
2. ^ ^{a b} Morgan, Steve (March 2010). McLeish, Ian. ed. "Design for life". Inside United (Haymarket Network) (212): 44–48. ISSN 1749-6497.  
3. ^ ^{a b} "European Football Statistics" . http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/attneng.htm . Retrieved 24 June 2006 .  
4. ^ "Manchester United win 11th FA Cup". CBC Sports (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). 22 May 2004 . http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2004/05/22/manchesterunited040522.html . Retrieved 12 August 2007 .  
5. ^ "United tops global rich list". premierl