Est. 1878 · Manchester, England · Theatre of Dreams
Manchester United
From Newton Heath to the most recognised football club on the planet. Twenty league titles, three European Cups, and a dynasty built over 26 years by Sir Alex Ferguson that no one has come close to repeating. 311 Manchester United kits catalogued on ShirtSociety.
2025-26 kit
2025-26
Manchester United enter the Ruben Amorim era in the familiar Adidas partnership that has been in place since 2015. The home kit remains the iconic all-red design, a silhouette unchanged in its essentials since the 1970s.
From Newton Heath to a global institution
1878 · Newton Heath
Manchester United began in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR, the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot. The club turned professional in 1885, joined the Football League in 1892, and was renamed Manchester United in 1902 after a financial rescue by a local businessman. The red shirts and white shorts that became world-famous were adopted in those early years at Bank Street in Clayton, before Old Trafford opened in 1910.
Browse home kits1945–1969 · Sir Matt Busby
The Busby Babes and European glory
Matt Busby took charge of a bombed-out club in 1945 and built one of football's greatest teams from the ground up. Three First Division titles and an FA Cup followed. Then, on 6 February 1958, a plane carrying the team back from a European Cup tie in Belgrade crashed on the runway at Munich. Eight players were killed. Busby himself nearly died. He rebuilt the club again and, ten years after Munich, Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4-1 at Wembley with a team featuring Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law.
1986–1992 · Ferguson rebuilds
Six years before everything changed
Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen in November 1986 with United 19th in the First Division. The first three years were difficult: reports of impending dismissal, inconsistent results, heavy spending that did not immediately pay off. An FA Cup win in 1990, then a European Cup Winners' Cup in 1991, bought time. Ferguson dismantled the drinking culture, signed Peter Schmeichel and Andrei Kanchelskis, and gave youth a chance. By 1992 he had a squad capable of winning. The Premier League was about to begin.
1992–1999 · The Premier League dynasty
Seven titles in nine years, then the Treble
United won the first Premier League title in 1993 by 10 points. Then the Double in 1994 and 1996, the latter with a team dismissed by pundits as too young. In 1999 came the Treble: Premier League, FA Cup, and the Champions League final in Barcelona. Two goals in injury time from Sheringham and Solskjaer against Bayern Munich made it the most dramatic finish in the competition's history. No English club has won the Treble since.
2000–2013 · The final chapter
A second Champions League and a record 20th title
Ferguson's second great team featured Ronaldo, Rooney, Scholes, Giggs and Vidic. A second Champions League arrived in 2008, won on penalties against Chelsea in Moscow. Five more Premier League titles followed. Ferguson's final season in 2012-13 produced a record 20th league title, secured by 11 points, with Robin van Persie scoring one of the great hat-tricks against Villa. Ferguson retired in May 2013. United have not won the league since.
Key milestones
Founded as Newton Heath LYR
Workers from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot form a football team. The club turns professional in 1885 and joins the Football League in 1892. Renamed Manchester United in 1902 after a financial rescue.
Munich Air Disaster
On 6 February, a British European Airways flight carrying the squad crashes on the runway at Munich airport. Eight players are killed. Matt Busby survives after fighting for his life. The disaster defines the club's identity for generations.
First European Cup
Ten years after Munich, United beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley. Bobby Charlton scores twice. George Best scores one of the most celebrated goals in the competition's history. Busby becomes the first manager to win the European Cup with an English club.
Ferguson appointed
Alex Ferguson arrives from Aberdeen, where he won the European Cup Winners' Cup and the league title. United are 19th in the First Division. The transformation takes six years, but it produces the greatest era of success in the club's history.
First Premier League title
United win the inaugural Premier League by 10 points. Eric Cantona, signed from Leeds for £1.2 million in November 1992, transforms the season. The first of 13 league titles under Ferguson. Browse the 1992-93 home kit.
The Treble
Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in one season. The CL final at Camp Nou against Bayern Munich: 1-0 down at 90 minutes, Sheringham levels in the first minute of injury time, Solskjaer scores the winner in the third. Browse the 1998-99 home kit.
Third European Cup
United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow. Ronaldo opens the scoring with a header. Lampard equalises. Terry slips taking the decisive penalty. Van der Sar saves from Anelka. United's second Treble of trophies: PL, CL, and Club World Cup later that year. Browse the 2007-08 home kit.
Ferguson retires
Having won a 20th league title by 11 points, Ferguson announces his retirement after 26 years and 13 league titles. No manager in English football history has come close to matching his record at a single club. The post-Ferguson era has yet to produce another title.
Kit manufacturers
Three brands have shaped the modern Manchester United kit: Adidas across two long stints, Umbro through the golden decade, and Nike through the final Ferguson years and beyond.
Adidas supplied United through the Atkinson years and the first half of the Ferguson era, including the 1990 FA Cup and 1991 Cup Winners' Cup. They returned in 2015 and continue to supply the club today. The longest single-brand relationship in the archive.
Umbro's decade at United produced the most decorated period in the club's history. Seven Premier League titles, two FA Cup doubles, the 1999 Treble. The 1998-99 home kit worn in the Champions League final is the most collected United shirt of the modern era.
Nike arrived with the AIG sponsorship era and stayed through Ferguson's second peak, the Ronaldo years, the 2008 Champions League win in Moscow, and five more Premier League titles. The 2007-08 kit worn in the Moscow final is among the most sought-after from the Nike era.
311
Kits in ShirtSociety
20
League titles
3
European Cups
1878
Founded
Iconic Manchester United kits
The shirts that define the club's most celebrated seasons, from the Cantona era to the Treble and the Moscow final.
Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in a single season. The CL final at Camp Nou: 1-0 down at 90 minutes, two goals in injury time from Sheringham and Solskjaer. No English club has won the Treble since. The most collected Manchester United shirt of the modern era.
United win the inaugural Premier League by 10 points. Eric Cantona, signed from Leeds in November, transforms the season with 9 goals in 22 games. The Sharp-sponsored Umbro design worn in the first year of a dynasty that would produce 12 more titles.
Ronaldo, Rooney, Scholes, Tevez and Hargreaves. The first all-English Champions League final since 1999. United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow. Ronaldo scores with a header, Terry slips on the most important penalty of his career, Van der Sar saves from Anelka. The AIG-era Nike kit at its finest.
Van Persie's hat-trick against Aston Villa seals the title in March. United finish 11 points clear. The 20th league title is won with two months to spare. Ferguson announces his retirement six weeks later. This Nike kit was the last he wore as manager.
Cantona, Keane, Ince, Giggs and Hughes. United retain the Premier League and win the FA Cup for the first time since 1985. Cantona scores twice in the 4-0 FA Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley. Back-to-back league titles for the first time since 1967.
After selling Ince, Hughes and Kanchelskis, United were written off. Beckham, Scholes, the Nevilles and Butt had other ideas. Cantona's chip against Newcastle, Beckham's goal from the halfway line against Wimbledon. United win the Double. A second time.
Legends
The players who made Manchester United more than a football club.
Bobby Charlton
1956–1973249 goals in 758 appearances. Survivor of Munich. Won the World Cup with England in 1966 and the European Cup with United in 1968. Considered one of the greatest players in football history and United's greatest servant.
George Best
1963–1974European Footballer of the Year in 1968. The most naturally gifted player of his generation. Goals, dribbling and an ability to change a game that no United player has matched since. His goal in the 1968 European Cup final: rounding the goalkeeper to finish, defines his career.
Eric Cantona
1992–1997Signed for £1.2 million, transformed an era. Four league titles in five seasons. The collar up, the presence on the pitch, the chip against Newcastle. Cantona made the Ferguson dynasty possible. His kung-fu kick at Crystal Palace earned an eight-month ban. He came back and won the title anyway.
Ryan Giggs
1991–201413 league titles, 2 Champions Leagues, 4 FA Cups. The most decorated player in English football history. A career spanning 23 years at one club. His solo goal against Arsenal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay is the greatest individual goal in the club's modern era.
Roy Keane
1993–2005The engine of the Treble era and the second dynasty. Drove, bullied and inspired United from midfield across 12 seasons. His performance in the 1999 Champions League semi-final against Juventus, knowing he would miss the final, is cited by Ferguson as one of the finest individual displays he ever saw.
Cristiano Ronaldo
2003–2009Arrived at 18, left as the best player in the world. Three Premier League titles, one Champions League, one Ballon d'Or. 118 goals in 292 games. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons produced the most complete attacking football Old Trafford has seen in the modern era.
Wayne Rooney
2004–2017United's all-time record scorer with 253 goals. Arrived at 18 from Everton and produced one of the great debut hat-tricks against Fenerbahce in the Champions League. Five Premier League titles, the 2008 Champions League. His overhead kick against Manchester City in 2011 is one of the most celebrated goals in Premier League history.
Old Trafford
Old Trafford opened in February 1910 and was designed to be the grandest football stadium in England. Bombed during the Second World War and rebuilt with help from Manchester City, who loaned United Maine Road for three seasons. The ground grew steadily through the post-war decades, adding new stands and increasing capacity. The Stretford End, the traditional home of the club's most vocal support, was rebuilt as an all-seater stand in the 1990s.
Old Trafford is the largest club ground in England outside London, though redevelopment plans have been under discussion since the early 2020s. The club has explored options for a new stadium on the same site or nearby.
1910
Opened
76,212
Capacity
12,500
The Stretford End
Theatre of Dreams
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