Manchester United Football Club is one of the most recognized and successful football teams in the world. Based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester, England, the club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. Commonly known as Manchester United, Man United, or simply United, the team is famously nicknamed the Red Devils. Founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club, the organization adopted the name Manchester United in 1902 before relocating to Old Trafford in 1910, a stadium that has remained its home ever since.

Throughout its history, Manchester United has built one of the most impressive trophy collections in football. The club has captured a joint-record 20 English league championships, 13 FA Cups, six League Cups, and a record 21 FA Community Shields. On the international stage, United has won the UEFA Champions League three times, along with the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup, confirming its place among football’s global elite.

A defining period in the club’s history began in 1945 when Matt Busby became manager. He assembled the young and talented squad known as the Busby Babes, which claimed consecutive league titles during the 1950s and became the first English club to compete in the European Cup. The tragic Munich air disaster of 1958 claimed the lives of eight players, but Busby rebuilt the team around George Best, Denis Law, and Bobby Charlton—the legendary United Trinity. Their efforts culminated in Manchester United becoming the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968.

Following Busby’s retirement, the club experienced several inconsistent years before the arrival of Sir Alex Ferguson in 1986. Ferguson transformed Manchester United into one of football’s dominant forces, collecting 38 major trophies over a remarkable 27-year tenure. His achievements included 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League crowns. The pinnacle came during the 1998–99 season, when United became the first English club to complete the historic continental treble by winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League in the same campaign.

The club continued adding to its European legacy in 2016–17 under José Mourinho by winning the UEFA Europa League. That triumph placed Manchester United among the select group of clubs to have claimed all three of UEFA’s traditional major club competitions: the European Cup/Champions League, the Cup Winners’ Cup, and the Europa League.

Manchester United enjoys one of the largest fan bases in global sports and maintains fierce rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City, Leeds United, and Arsenal. The club has also become one of football’s strongest commercial brands. It generated €676.3 million in revenue during the 2016–17 season, making it the world’s highest-earning football club at the time. In 2024, Manchester United was valued at approximately £6.55 billion, ranking among the most valuable sports organizations worldwide. After listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was acquired by American businessman Malcolm Glazer in 2005 through an £800 million takeover. Although a portion of the club’s shares has traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 2012, the Glazer family continues to hold controlling ownership.