60 Fun Facts About Manchester City

Manchester City were founded in 1880 under what name?

They became Ardwick AFC in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894, the year they adopted sky blue.

In which year did the club adopt the name Manchester City and its sky blue home shirts?

Reports from 1884 describe the church side in black jerseys with a white cross.

City won their first major honour, the FA Cup, in 1904 by beating which club 1-0 at Crystal Palace?

Billy Meredith scored, and City became the first Manchester club to win a major trophy.

Early star Billy Meredith, who later crossed to United, was famous for chewing what during matches?

The Welsh winger was banned in 1906 for offering an Aston Villa player £10 to lose a match.

City moved to Moss Side in 1923 after fire destroyed the main stand at which previous ground?

Maine Road, in Moss Side, was nicknamed the 'Wembley of the North' by its designers.

Maine Road's record 84,569 crowd in 1934 watched an FA Cup tie against whom?

The record stood until 2016; City went on to win that year's Cup against Portsmouth.

City won their first league title in 1937 and then did what the next season, despite scoring the division's most goals?

They remain the only reigning English champions ever to go down, a classic 'typical City' moment.

Goalkeeper Bert Trautmann famously played on in the 1956 FA Cup final after unknowingly doing what?

City beat Birmingham 3-1; the former German paratrooper had just been named Footballer of the Year.

Before joining City in 1949, Bert Trautmann had served in which role in the German forces?

Some 20,000 people protested his signing; he became the first German to play in an FA Cup final.

The 1955 and 1956 FA Cup final teams were built around a tactical system named after which player?

The 'Revie Plan' used a deep-lying centre-forward, inspired by Hungary's Nándor Hidegkuti.

Which duo, appointed in 1965, led City to the league title, FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup?

City had just recorded a record-low home crowd of 8,015 against Swindon.

City clinched the 1967-68 league title on the final day with a 4-3 win away at which club?

They pipped neighbours United to the championship.

City won the 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup final 2-1 in Vienna against which Polish side?

Neil Young and Francis Lee scored; the club's next European trophy took 53 years.

Malcolm Allison had Manchester City copy which Italian club's red and black stripes for luck?

City wore the stripes to win the 1969 FA Cup, 1970 League Cup and 1970 Cup Winners' Cup finals.

Which ex-United player back-heeled the 1974 Old Trafford goal that confirmed United's relegation?

He was playing for City; Francis Lee supplied the ball with ten minutes left.

Which City winger of the Mercer era later acted in Escape to Victory with Pelé and Stallone?

He arrived in Mercer's first season alongside Colin Bell.

Before Manchester City in 1998, which German club was the only European trophy winner to fall to the third tier?

Chairman Francis Lee resigned midway through that season.

Who scored City's stoppage-time equaliser against Gillingham in the 1999 play-off final?

City were 2-0 down with ten minutes left and won the shoot-out 3-1.

Cult 1990s playmaker Georgi Kinkladze came from which country?

He was born in Tbilisi and named his country's player of the year twice before joining City.

Striker Shaun Goater, of 'Feed the Goat' fame, was an international for which country?

He scored 32 goals in 36 games for the islands.

Which former England manager became City's first foreign manager in 2007?

He was sacked in June 2008 and replaced by Mark Hughes two days later.

Which former Thai prime minister owned City before selling to the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008?

His political troubles saw his assets frozen, leaving the club in a precarious position.

Which Brazilian did City sign for a British-record £32.5 million immediately after the 2008 takeover?

He arrived from Real Madrid; the team still finished only tenth that season.

After signing Carlos Tevez from United in 2009, City erected a blue billboard bearing what slogan?

It stood at the top of Deansgate, pointedly outside the city boundary in which Old Trafford sits.

Which manager replaced Mark Hughes in December 2009 and delivered the 2011 FA Cup and 2012 title?

He was sacked in 2013 after finishing second and losing the FA Cup final to relegated Wigan.

Who scored the only goal of the 2011 FA Cup final against Stoke, City's first major trophy in 35 years?

He had also scored the winner against United in the semi-final.

Against which club did Sergio Agüero score his added-time title-winning goal in 2011-12?

City became the first team to win the Premier League on goal difference alone.

Which club captain lifted the 2012 Premier League trophy, City's first league title in 44 years?

He captained City for eight of his eleven seasons and later managed Burnley and Bayern Munich.

Mario Balotelli's shirt message after scoring in the 6-1 win at Old Trafford in October 2011 read what?

The celebration followed newspaper reports about fireworks in his bathroom.

Sergio Agüero's nickname 'Kun', printed on his shirt, came from what?

He was also Diego Maradona's son-in-law and broke his youngest-debut record at Independiente.

Sergio Agüero retired in 2021 shortly after joining Barcelona because of what?

He left City as the club's record scorer with 260 goals.

Which Chilean succeeded Mancini and won the title on the last day of his first season in 2014?

He also won two League Cups and took City to a first Champions League semi-final.

Pep Guardiola's 2017-18 side won the Premier League with a record how many points?

His first season had ended trophyless with a third-place finish.

City's first Champions League final, in 2021, ended in a 1-0 defeat to which club?

The all-English final was played at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto.

Who scored the only goal of the 2023 Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul?

The Spanish midfielder went on to win the 2024 Ballon d'Or, City's first.

Rodri's 2024 Ballon d'Or made him the first defensive midfielder to win it since which player in 1990?

He was also only the second Spaniard to win the award.

Ilkay Gündogan's 12-second opener against United at Wembley in June 2023 set what record?

The long-range volley came within 12 seconds and sealed a domestic double on the way to the treble.

How many goals in all competitions did Erling Haaland score in his record-breaking 2022-23 season?

His 36 league goals were also a Premier League single-season record.

Erling Haaland was born in which English city while his father Alf-Inge was playing there?

He moved to Bryne in Norway aged three but grew up a Leeds fan.

Kevin De Bruyne joined City in 2015 from which Bundesliga club?

He had been sold there by Chelsea; he left City for Napoli on a free in 2025.

David Silva, City's midfield magician for a decade, was born on which island?

He came through Valencia's youth system and won the Copa del Rey with them in 2008.

City's Ivorian midfielder was named African Footballer of the Year how many times in a row from 2011?

He had played centre-back for Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart holds the joint record for how many Premier League Golden Glove awards?

He began at hometown club Shrewsbury Town in the Conference.

Which City squad number has been retired since 2003 in memory of Marc-Vivien Foé?

The Cameroon midfielder, on loan from Lyon, died playing at the 2003 Confederations Cup.

City's home ground was built to host which sporting event before conversion to a football stadium?

Tony Blair laid the foundation stone in 1999; it has been the Etihad Stadium since 2011.

Which 1934 song do City fans sing as their anthem?

Despite its melancholy lyric it is belted out like a battle hymn.

City fans borrowed their back-to-goal bouncing celebration in 2010 from which club's supporters?

City met them in the Europa League and named the dance The Poznań.

The late-1980s craze of City fans bringing inflatables to matches mainly featured which object?

One story traces it to chants for substitute Imre Varadi mutating into 'Imre Banana'.

The three diagonal stripes on the club's 1997 badge represented what?

The Irwell, Irk and Medlock; the motto beneath read 'Superbia in Proelio', Pride in Battle.

Who holds City's record for most appearances, with 680 between 1958 and 1976?

He also holds the league-appearances record with 564.

In 2023 the Premier League charged City with how many breaches of its financial rules?

In 2020 the Court of Arbitration for Sport had overturned a UEFA two-year European ban.

City won which two competitions for the first time in 2023-24, beating Sevilla and Fluminense?

They then became the first English men's club to win four consecutive league titles.

Which club-record fee did City pay Nottingham Forest for Elliot Anderson in July 2026?

The record sale is £82 million from Atlético Madrid for Julián Álvarez in 2024.

Phil Foden, a boyhood City fan and academy graduate, was born in which Greater Manchester town?

He won the Golden Ball at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup before breaking into the first team.

City's record low home attendance of 8,015 in January 1965 came against which club?

Months later Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison arrived, won the Second Division at the first attempt and signed Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell.

Which club did City beat 2-1 in the 1976 League Cup final, their last trophy for 35 years?

City had also finished a single point behind the champions twice in the 1970s and lost the 1974 League Cup final.

According to 1884 reports, what did the club's early black jerseys carry?

A 1940s booklet says West Gorton (St. Mark's) originally played in scarlet and black; blue has been worn since 1892 or earlier.

The Blues' record league win, 11-3 in March 1895, came against which opponent?

The widest margin was 10-0 against Darwen in 1899; the club's heaviest defeat was 2-10 at Small Heath in 1893.

Which American baseball franchise partnered with City in 2013 to launch an MLS expansion team?

NYCFC entered MLS as its 20th expansion team in 2015; City Football Group also owns Melbourne City and a stake in Girona.

Which club paid City a record £82 million for Julián Alvarez in August 2024?

Sergio Agüero remains the club's all-time top scorer with 260 goals between 2011 and 2021.