60 Fun Facts About Manchester City

Manchester City were founded in 1880 under what name?

St. Mark's (West Gorton). The church side grew out of efforts to steer local men away from 'scuttling', the mass gang fights that plagued the area.

From 1887 until it became Manchester City in 1894, the club carried which Manchester district's name?

Ardwick. The club took that name after moving out of Gorton, since its new ground stood in the neighbouring district.

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?

A toothpick. The fallout from a 1905 bribery accusation against him exposed illegal extra payments to City's players.

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

Hyde Road. The cramped ground had no room to expand, so City built a far bigger stadium on a new site instead.

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

Stoke City. City went on to beat Portsmouth in that year's final, just a year after losing the 1933 final to Everton.

The season after City won their first league title in 1937, what happened to them?

Got relegated. Their 80 league goals were the most in the division, yet they finished 21st of 22 and went down.

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

Breaking his neck. With no substitutes allowed, he kept going after colliding with Birmingham's Peter Murphy, and only an X-ray three days later revealed the break.

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

Paratrooper. About 20,000 people protested against his signing, but Manchester's communal rabbi, Alexander Altmann, publicly appealed for him to be given a chance.

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

Don Revie. The plan copied Hungary's deep-lying centre-forward Nándor Hidegkuti, whose side had thrashed England 6–3 at Wembley in 1953.

Which 1965 managerial duo won City the league, FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup?

Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison. They took over a Second Division side and won that division in their very first season.

City won the 1969 FA Cup final 1-0 at Wembley against which club?

Leicester City. They reached Wembley while fighting relegation, and went down to the Second Division that same season.

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

Górnik Zabrze. The final wasn't shown live in Britain because it clashed with that year's FA Cup final replay.

City's late-1960s away kit was reputedly modelled on the colours of which Italian club?

AC Milan. The red and black was meant to inspire glory, and City won three cup finals wearing it in 1969 and 1970.

Who back-heeled a goal for City at Old Trafford in 1974, on the day United went down?

Denis Law. The former United hero was too distraught to celebrate, though United would have gone down that day whatever the result.

Which 1960s City star later acted alongside Pelé and Sylvester Stallone in Escape to Victory?

Mike Summerbee. Off the pitch he co-owned a menswear business with United star George Best.

Who was City's manager when they dropped into England's third tier for the first time in 1998?

Joe Royle. A year later he took City straight back up, winning the play-off final at Wembley on penalties.

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

Paul Dickov. City were 2-0 down with four minutes left, and he beat Gillingham keeper Vince Bartram, the best man at his wedding.

Cult 1990s City playmaker Kinkladze came from which country?

Georgia. Despite his spectacular goals City were relegated in 1998, and he left for Dutch champions Ajax.

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

Bermuda. He started out at Manchester United but never made their first team, then became a goalscoring cult hero at City.

Which former England manager took charge of City in 2007?

Sven-Göran Eriksson. His side did City's first league double over United since 1969-70, yet the owner still replaced him after one season.

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

Thaksin Shinawatra. After selling, he stayed on as City's honorary president until the new owners removed him in 2009.

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

Robinho. Most expected him to join a London rival, and at his City unveiling he mistakenly named that club as the one whose offer he had accepted.

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

Welcome to Manchester. It needled United, and Alex Ferguson hit back by calling City a small club with a small mentality.

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

Roberto Mancini. He was sacked days after losing the 2013 FA Cup final to Wigan, who were relegated from the Premier League that same week.

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

Yaya Touré. He had also scored the only goal of the semi-final, knocking United out at Wembley.

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

Queens Park Rangers. City trailed 2-1 in stoppage time before Edin Džeko and Agüero scored, snatching the title from United on goal difference.

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

Vincent Kompany. His header beat United 1-0 in the run-in, sending City top on goal difference with two games left.

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

Why always me? A day earlier a firework let off in his house had started a fire, yet that week he became Manchester's face of firework safety.

City clinched the 2021-22 title by coming from 2-0 down against Aston Villa, then managed by whom?

Steven Gerrard. For a while his Villa side looked set to hand the title to his old club Liverpool, who finished one point behind City.

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

Heart problems. He was diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia after chest pains and breathing difficulties during a match against Alavés in October 2021.

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.

Guardiola's record-breaking 2017-18 title winners earned what nickname?

The Centurions. They reached 100 points only in stoppage time of the final game, when Gabriel Jesus scored the winner at Southampton.

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

Chelsea. The final was due to be played in Istanbul, but Covid restrictions led UEFA to move it to Porto.

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

Rodri. His goal won City their first European Cup and completed the Treble of league, FA Cup and Champions League, which only United had won in English men's football.

Which former Ballon d'Or winner played briefly for City in 2000?

George Weah. Eighteen years after his short City spell, he was sworn in as president of Liberia.

Ilkay Gündoğan's opener against United in June 2023 set what record?

Fastest goal in an FA Cup final. It came after 12 seconds, beating Louis Saha's 25 seconds in 2009, and Gündoğan later volleyed the winner after United levelled.

Haaland's 36 league goals in 2022-23 broke a record Andy Cole shared with whom?

Alan Shearer. He and Cole each scored 34 when a season ran to 42 games, and Haaland passed them in a 38-game season with five matches to spare.

Erling Haaland was born in July 2000 in which English city?

Leeds. His father Alf-Inge had joined City from Leeds United weeks before the birth, yet Erling grew up a Leeds fan.

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

VfL Wolfsburg. He had left England in 2014 after only nine games for his first English club, and City paid a club-record fee to bring him back.

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

Gran Canaria. He retired in 2023, aged 37, after a serious knee injury in pre-season with Real Sociedad.

In 2014, City's Ivorian midfielder backed his agent's claim that the club had ignored what?

His birthday. He first played down the row on Twitter, then tweeted that everything his agent Dimitri Seluk had said was true.

After Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016, which Serie A club did Joe Hart join on a season-long loan?

Torino. Guardiola later called letting him leave on loan the toughest decision of his time as a manager.

City retired their number 23 shirt in 2003 in memory of which Cameroon midfielder?

Marc-Vivien Foé. He collapsed during Cameroon's Confederations Cup semi-final against Colombia, weeks after his loan season at City ended.

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

The 2002 Commonwealth Games. The council then spent £22m removing the running track and converting it for City to move in as tenants.

Which 1934 song do City fans sing as their anthem?

Blue Moon. Rodgers and Hart first wrote the tune as a song called 'Prayer' for Jean Harlow, but it was never used in the film.

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

Lech Poznań. Their travelling fans bounced through a 3-1 defeat at City in October 2010, and the home supporters soon copied them and named the dance after the club.

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 city's rivers. City commissioned the badge because their previous crest, based on Manchester's coat of arms, couldn't be registered as a trademark.

Who holds City's record for most appearances, with 680 between 1959 and 1976?

Alan Oakes. Despite his 17 years of service, Chester still had to pay City a £15,000 fee when he moved there in 1976.

Which body lifted UEFA's 2020 ban on City?

Court of Arbitration for Sport. It found City had failed to cooperate with UEFA's investigation, but cut their fine from €30m to €10m.

Which two trophies did City win for the first time in 2023-24?

UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup. City qualified for both by winning the Champions League the previous June.

England midfielder Elliot Anderson joined City for £116m in July 2026 from which club?

Nottingham Forest. The fee made him the most expensive British player, but Morgan Rogers's £117m move beat it less than three weeks later.

City's Phil Foden was born in which Greater Manchester town?

Stockport. He scored twice as England came from 2-0 down to beat Spain 5-2 in the 2017 Under-17 World Cup final.

City's Nigel de Jong was only booked for kicking which Spain player in the chest in the 2010 World Cup final?

Xabi Alonso. Referee Howard Webb admitted weeks later, after watching replays, that the challenge should have been a red card.

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

Newcastle United. The winner was an overhead kick by Dennis Tueart, who had supported Newcastle as a boy.

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.

Which Abu Dhabi royal backed the group that took over City in September 2008?

Sheikh Mansour. The 2023 Champions League final in Istanbul was only the second City match he had attended since the takeover.

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

The Yankees. With no stadium of their own, NYCFC made Yankee Stadium their main home from their first MLS season in 2015.

Which club signed Julián Alvarez from City in August 2024?

Atlético Madrid. City had paid River Plate about £14m for him in 2022, and sold him two years later for up to about £82m.