25/26 Team Overview - Man United

Man U/United/Red Devils

Author

nick lochner
August 13, 2025

2024/25 Finish - 15th Place,

No Europe for United

Pressure. CS feels pressure even writing this overview as this will most likely be the most read overview of the 20 PL teams. That is the life of anyone who plays for or manages United. This season will be no different as United are in territory they are not used to - out of Europe and coming off the lowest PL finish since 1974. Success is not improving on last year, it’s competing for a PL title and the Champions League.

Amorim. Ruben Amorim was riding high at Sporting in Portugal and United was able to pull him away from a well oiled machine to what was/is United. Amorim did not fare better than previous managers and the pressure will be on early and often. How they play will be important, and so will collecing points. If either of those are missing it could be an early exit for Amorim.

That Stung. United does not deserve Europe this season yet they has a chance reaching the Europa League finals last season. Those hopes were dashed by Spurs who beat United for the title and are now playing in the Champions League.

Attack. Attack. Attack. Scoring was a problem last season and this off-season players have been added to bolster this deficiency. Cunha, Mbuemo, and Sesko have all come in to change this - at a price of over $200M.

All eyes will be on United. Again. Like ‘em or not, you will be watching to see what they do.

The Club

Located in Old Trafford, Manchester

Old Trafford, 77,000 capacity

Rough estimates

$1B Annual Revenue

$285M Player Payroll

History on the Pitch

  • 20 Titles (the most - with Liverpool), last in 2013

  • 13 FA Cups (Defending Champions)

  • 4 Europe Cups

Sponsorship

Home

Away

Ownership

Malcolm Glazer bought into MU in 2003 at 15%, to 30% in 2004 and then 57% and again to 75% in 2005. He took MU off the London Stock Exchange and his ownership to 98%. The final purchase price of the club totaled over $1B. Much of the money came from loans with an annual payment of over $75M per year. This level of debt did not sit well with the MU fanbase. A group of wealthy MU fans, “The Red Knights” put in a $1.2B offer for the club declined by Glazer. In 2012, Glazer IPOd the club on the NYSE at $14/share. Today it trades around $17/share. In 2021, Joel Glazer, Chairman, played a major role in the creation of a Super Leage. When the Super League fell apart, Glazer apologized to the fans and said, “he got it wrong”. There continues to be distrust from the fanbase on ownership. Lack of investment in Old Trafford, improving the squad and appointing a permanent manager all while the Glazers continue to attach debt to the club are listed as reasons for the discontent.

In December of 2023 the glazers sold 25% of the club to Jim Ratcliffe, who owns INEOS (Sport Company) and while the Glazers remain majority shareholders, Ratcliffe will take control of football operations.

Biggest Rival - Manchester City - Manchester Derby

  • Separated by 4 miles, the size and success of both clubs brings on this heated rivalry each year.

  • Maybe you remember this Commercial - “Born Into It”

  • With all the success lately for City, they still are behind United in the win column. In 196 matches, United has 80W 61L 55D.

  • Liverpool (30 miles from Man U) is a big rival as well, as both are big international clubs, and some consider both the most successful English clubs. Rarely have both clubs been successful at the same time. The rivalry took off during the Industrial Revolution when the cities were competing against each other.

  • 1962 - the last time a player was transferred from one club to the other.

The Culture

Top 5, if not TOP supported club in all of soccer depending on how you measure. A Global brand valued at over $6.6B, top 2 in value of ANY sports team in the world with Real Madrid. The club is listed on the NYSE. More supporter clubs than any team. Old Trafford - think Lambeau Field - history, retrofit, modern. The biggest in the PL. Recognized stars - David “bend it like” Beckham, Wayne Rooney.

If you are looking for a big club with title expectations every year in the PL and in Europe with the most fans in the world, this is the club for you.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Took over a club in danger of relegation in 1986 and reportedly was on verge of being sacked in 1990 but led The Red Devils to the FA Cup Title. Then in 1993 won the PL and went on to be the most successful manager in all soccer for 27 years. His success was historic:

From 1992, 19 of 22 years finishing 1 or 2 in the League.

Sir Alex won 34 cups as manager, double the next best, Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) at 17.

You can watch a documentary on Amazon Prime Video of his career - Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In 

Sir Alex Ferguson

Song

A single released Frank Renshaw of Herman’s Hermits in 1983, it is also the slogan of the official club magazine launched in 1994. “Glory, glory Man United, Glory, glory Man United, Glory, glory Man United, As the Reds go marching on, on, on!”.

Sir Alex

Game Day Pub Guide

Supporters You May Recognize

For a comprehensive list, click here, its long!

  • Elon Musk

  • Usain Bolt

  • Floyd Mayweather

  • Justin Timberlake

  • Rory McIlroy

Fan Sites

Possibly the biggest most followed club in the world. There are so many, here are a couple places to start.

Official Twitter

@ManUtd

High Follows on Twitter

@manutd_updates (52k)

@manutd_action (95k)

@RedDevilsHub (35k)

@manunitedworld (335k)

Many Many More

The Team

The Gaffer

  • Ruben Amorim (Portuguese), 40yo

  • Took over at MU mid season last year and did not turn the club around but did get a running start into this season.

  • Lots of success at Sporting in Portugal

  • “Probably the worst team in history”. This was a quote in frustration by Amorim about his United side after their loss to BHA last season.

ETH

ODDS

  • To Win League +1,925

  • To Be Relegated +3,700

Roster Notes

Full Roster click link

CS Projected to finish 8th

Americans on the team (as of July 27)

  • Bruno Fernandes

  • Matheus Cunha

  • Kobbie Mainoo

  • Amad Diallo

  • Lisandro Martinez

  • Bryan Mbeumo

  • Rasmus Hojlund

Goalkeeper

  • Andre Onana - Maybe

Old Trafford

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