List of Manchester United F.C. records and statistics

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. The club was founded as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in 1878 and turned professional in 1885, before joining the Football League in 1892. After a brush with bankruptcy in 1901, the club reformed as Manchester United in 1902. Manchester United currently play in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. They have not been out of the top tier since 1975, and they have never been lower than the second tier. They have also been involved in European football ever since they became the first English club to enter the European Cup in 1956.
This list encompasses the major honours won by Manchester United and records set by the club, their managers and their players. The player records section includes details of the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Manchester United players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. The club's attendance records, both at Old Trafford, their home since 1910, and Maine Road, their temporary home from 1946 to 1949, are also included in the list.
The club currently holds the record for the most Premier League titles with 13, and the highest number of English top-flight titles with 20. The club's record appearance maker is Ryan Giggs, who made 963 appearances between 1991 and 2014, and the club's record goalscorer is Wayne Rooney, who scored 253 goals in 559 appearances between 2004 and 2017.
"All stats accurate as of match played 26 December 2020."
Honours.
Manchester United's first trophy was the Manchester Cup, which they won as Newton Heath LYR in 1886. Their first national senior honour came in 1908, when they won the 1907–08 Football League First Division title. The club also won the FA Cup for the first time the following year. In terms of the number of trophies won, the 1990s was Manchester United's most successful decade, during which they won five league titles, four FA Cups, one League Cup, five Community Shields (one shared), one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup.
The club currently holds the record for most top-division titles, with 20. They were also the first team to win the Premier League, as well as holding the record for the most Premier League titles (13), and became the first English team to win the European Cup when they won it in 1968. Their most recent trophy came in May 2017, when they won the UEFA Europa League.
Players.
"All current players are in bold"
Appearances.
Most appearances.
"Competitive, professional matches only. Appearances as substitute (in parentheses) included in total."
Award winners.
Ballon d’Or
The following players have won the Ballon d'Or while playing for Manchester United:
European Golden Shoe
The following players have won the European Golden Shoe while playing for Manchester United:
FIFA World Player of the Year
The following players have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award while playing for Manchester United:
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year
The following players have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award while playing for Manchester United:
FIFA Puskás Award
The following players have won the FIFA Puskás Award while playing for Manchester United:
Internationals.
FIFA World Cup
The following players have won the FIFA World Cup while playing for Manchester United:
UEFA European Championship
The following players have won the UEFA European Championship while playing for Manchester United:
Copa América
The following players have won the Copa América while playing for Manchester United:
CONCACAF Gold Cup
The following players have won the CONCACAF Gold Cup while playing for Manchester United:
Olympic Games
The following players have won a gold medal in football at the Olympic Games while playing for Manchester United:
Transfers.
Highest transfer fees paid.
Manchester United's record signing is Paul Pogba, who signed for the club from Juventus for a world record fee of £89.3 million in August 2016. The signing of Anthony Martial for £36 million in 2015 set a world record for the transfer of a teenager, and the £80 million paid for Harry Maguire in 2019 was a world record for a defender.
Progression of record fee paid.
The first transfer for which Manchester United (then Newton Heath) had to pay a fee was the transfer of Gilbert Godsmark from Ashford in January 1900, paying £40 for the forward. The club's first £1,000 transfer came in 1910, when they signed Leslie Hofton from Glossop. When the club signed Tommy Taylor from Barnsley in 1953, the fee was intended to be £30,000. However, Matt Busby did not want to burden the young player with the "£30,000-man" tag, and Barnsley agreed for the fee to be reduced by £1 to £29,999. Busby then took the extra pound from his wallet and gave it to the lady who had been serving the teas.
Manchester United made their first six-figure signing in August 1962 with the transfer of Denis Law from Torino for £110,000, a new British record. The club broke the British transfer record again in 1981 with the £1.5 million signing of Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion. When Andy Cole signed for United in January 1995, the club paid £7 million, almost double their previous record of £3.75 million, which they paid for Roy Keane 18 months earlier. In the summer of 2001, the club broke their transfer record twice in the space of a month, first paying PSV Eindhoven £19 million for Ruud van Nistelrooy, and then £28.1 million to Lazio for Juan Sebastián Verón. Manchester United have broken the British transfer record three times since buying Verón, with the signings of Rio Ferdinand in July 2002, Ángel Di María in August 2014 and Paul Pogba in August 2016.
"Transfers in bold are also records for fees paid by British clubs"
Highest transfer fees received.
The club's record sale came in July 2009, when they sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80 million.
Progression of record fee received.
The first player for whom Manchester United, then Newton Heath, received a fee was William Bryant, who moved to Blackburn Rovers for just £50 in April 1900. That same month, Manchester City paid five times more for Scottish forward Joe Cassidy. The club's first £1,000 sale came 12 years later with the sale of Harold Halse to Aston Villa.
The club's first British record sale came in March 1949, when Derby County paid £24,500 for Johnny Morris. However, 35 years passed before Manchester United next broke the record for the biggest sale by a British club; the sale of Ray Wilkins to Milan for £1.5 million in June 1984 was also the club's first million-pound sale. Another British record followed two years later with the sale of Mark Hughes to Barcelona for £2.5 million. The club's record sale increased fivefold in the space of two transfers over the next 15 years; first with the £7 million sale of Paul Ince to Internazionale in 1995, and then the 2001 transfer of Jaap Stam to Lazio for £15.25 million. Manchester United broke the world transfer record for the first time in July 2009 with the £80 million sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.
References.
Bibliography
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