The current English Premier League Champion and UEFA Champions League finalist Manchester City is an English Club that has come a long way to rise to the zenith of club football.
Founded in the year 1880, and originally named St. Mark’s (West Gorton), the blue side of Manchester would go on to change name two more times before eventually settled for Manchester City. In the year 1887, the club’s name was changed to Ardwick Association Football Club and by 1894, the name was finally changed to Manchester City.
Short History
Though established in the year 1880, Manchester City Football club qualified for Football League for the first time after twelve years in 1892. Twelve years after again, the club won its first major trophy, the FA Cup in 1904. The Citizens would have to wait for a few more decades before they could taste another round of success. In the 1960s under the high flying management of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, the club won many titles including the League, European Cup Winners Cup, FA Cup, and League Cup.
However, the club would go again into oblivion following the 1981 FA Cup final defeat at the hand of Tottenham Hotspur after a penalty shoot-out in Wembley Stadium. The club failures that followed led the team to a third division back in 1998, only to rise back to the English Premier League level in the 2002 – 2003 season.
Consequently, fortune would smile on Manchester City five years later, as the Abu Dhabi United Group would purchase the club in the year 2008 after paying a huge sum of £210 million (pounds) to resuscitate the club and lead it to recent success both on and off the pitch.
Current Squad
Although no current Manchester City players were playing for the club back in 2008, the current squad setup can still be traced back to the year 2008, when the Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club. Following the takeover, the club began signing high-profile players and getting top talents across the world, not just England and Europe alone. Starting with the purchase of the then Brazilian international Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 million at a British transfer record at the time. Manchester City would continue to sign high-profile players and coaches till the present moment, having a total squad value of over €1 billion (euro).
Current Players
Goalkeepers: Emerson, Zack Steffen
Defenders: Rúben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Aké, John Stones, Eric García, Philippe Sandler, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Benjamin Mendy, João Cancelo, Kyle Walker
Midfielder: Rodri, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gündogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva
Forward: Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Jack Harrison, Ferran Torres, Riyad Mahrez, Patrick Roberts, Gabriel Jesus
Coach: Pep Guardiola
Ownership and Finances
The current ownership of Manchester City football club is Manchester City Limited, which is a private limited company, with approximately 54 million shares in issue. The Manchester City Limited is under the City Football Group (CFG) a part of Abu Dhabi United Group whose focus is on the global footballing interests of the parent company. The City Football Group has various stakes in a network of global clubs where they involve themselves in resource sharing, academy networking, and marketing.
Currently, the City Football Group owns stakes and partners with various footballing clubs around the world including Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos, New York City Fc, Montevideo City Troque, Sichuan Jiuniu F.C., Mumbai City FC, Lommel S.K., Troyes AC, Club Bolivar, and Vannes OC.
Stadium
The home or stadium of Manchester City is known as Etihad Stadium with a current capacity of about 61,000. Before moving to the present stadium, Manchester City has played their home games in two permanent stadiums referred to as Hyde Road Football stadium and Maine Road in their early years.
The current Manchester City stadium is on a 200-year lease from Manchester City Council. Manchester City began utilizing their present stadium in 2003 following their abandonment of Maine Road which was restricted to a maximum of 35,000 capacity. Originally, their present stadium was known as the City of Manchester Stadium.
However, following their move to the new home, the club has spent approximately £30 million (pounds) to renovate and remodel it to their taste. The first game to be played in the stadium was a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in a friendly game played between the two clubs.
Trophy Cabinets
Manchester City is considered one of the most successful clubs in England in terms of trophy counts, the club is rated to be number five on the trophy list among the English clubs. Having won twenty-nine major domestic and European honors, half of the titles came since their recent takeover. So far Manchester City football club has won seven premier league titles, including five titles since the Premier League era. Also, they have won six FA cups, eight English Football League cups, a joint-record for the most wins, and six FA Community Shield. The cub has also won UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
Major Trophy Summary
- Premier League – 7
- FA Cup – 6
- EFL – 8 (Joint record winner)
- FA Community Shield – 6
- UEFA Cup Winners cup – 1
The 2021 UEFA Champions League win could have capped the Manchester City trophy Cabinet, but a narrow loss to Chelsea FC shows they still need to improve more in the coming season. Sports fans would be looking forward to next season to stake on the club’s success. But before the next season’s football begins, bettors and pundits would be looking forward to the Wimbledon coming up between June 28 to July 12. A quick check of tennis bookmakers would ensure you understand the betting tips and predictions of the game so you can improve your chance of winning.
As for Manchester City in the coming season, the Pep Guardiola team would need to show more than domestic dominance to conquer Europe, which at the moment they are not far from achieving that level. With a little push and luck, they would definitely reach that goal.
