FA CUP
How many major trophies have Manchester United and Manchester City won in their history?
Garnacho and Mainoo found the net as United won the 2024 FA Cup with a surprise win over Pep Guardiola’s City at Wembley.
Manchester United overcame the odds to defeat Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday. First-half goals from teenage duo Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo sealed the victory for The Red Devils, with the result meaning Pep Guardiola’s side, who had been hoping for a second successive treble, have “only” won the Premier League in 2023/24.
City close the gap on United
United have long been the more successful of the two Manchester clubs, although that trend has been emphatically reversed in recent seasons. Since the departure of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, the Old Trafford side have failed to win a single league title, while City, backed by the Abu Dhabi United Group, have scooped up seven in that time.
The red half of the Manchester divide still handsomely lead the way when it comes to “major” trophies, although the gap is nowhere near as big as it was a decade ago.
Who has won more “major” trophies, Manchester United or Manchester City?
Deciding what constitutes a “major” trophy can sometimes be contentious, but we’ll keep things simple for the sake of this exercise. League titles and both English domestic cups count, as do the three main European tournaments (past and present).
Competitions that have a limited number of participants, such as the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup or Community Shield, aren’t included in the figures.
| Manchester United | Manchester City | |
|---|---|---|
| Premier League / English top division | 20 | 10 |
| FA Cup | 13 | 7 |
| League Cup | 6 | 8 |
| European Cup / Champions League | 3 | 1 |
| UEFA Cup / Europa League | 1 | 0 |
| Cup Winners’ Cup | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 44 | 27 |
United remain well ahead of City
The 2024 FA Cup is United’s 44th “major” honour according to the criteria outlined above, taking them 17 ahead of their city rivals. With 13 victories in the competition, The Red Devils are now just one victory behind Arsenal, who have lifted the FA Cup a record 14 times.
Ferguson led the Old Trafford club to their 20th league title before retiring in 2013, taking them beyond the previous record of 18, held by Liverpool (who have since reached 19). At that stage, City had only three titles to their name but are now in double figures following their recent exploits.
Six League Cup victories since the start of the 2013/14 season have seen the Sky Blues move ahead of their rivals in the honours list in that particular competition, which United have won only twice in that time.
Will Manchester United play in Europe in 2024/25?
Winning the FA Cup means United have qualified for next season’s Europa League. They will go straight into the group stage of the competition, knocking Chelsea, who finished sixth in the Premier League, down into the Europa Conference League.