The History of the Manchester City Football Club

As one of the most iconic, successful football clubs in British history, Man City certainly has a backstory worth telling. Since the club's foundation all the way back in the 1880s, it's gone from strength to strength and had some of the best footballers in history playing for it. In this article, we'll be exploring the origins and history of Man City, as well as some of the club's more recent achievements. 

Foundations and Origins 

You might be surprised to learn how old Man City actually is. Given that the club's players have been responsible for some of the best Champions League moments in recent memory, it might be a bit of a shock to learn that Manchester City FC was officially established way back in 1880!

In fact, the club's founding members were brought together by attending St. Mark's Church of England. St. Mark's is in West Gorton, part of the city of Manchester, and the men who started Man City intended largely to do so for the sake of their humanitarian goals. 

Indeed, members of the church were concerned about the violence and addiction issues that were plaguing the streets of Manchester. They essentially formed Man City as a way to keep young men out of trouble, and people were welcome to join regardless of their denomination or faith. 

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Just 9 years after Man City was founded as a church team, the club won the Second Division. This led to their inclusion in the First Division, where they quickly saw considerable success. As time went on, Man City would continue to become increasingly established as a professional football team, picking up better players and performing at an increasingly high level. 

Indeed, since the 1890s, Man City has consistently been performing at the highest level and still does to this day. For instance, the club won the 2023 edition of the Champions League, clearly demonstrating that their dominance on the pitch is unlikely to end anytime soon. 

Growth and Further Success

By the 1930s, Man City had become a well-established professional team and had some great successes in the British FA Cup. 

One man who had a key role in Man City's successes was the legendary Mike Summerbee. Summerbee is an inductee in the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame, thanks in large part to his illustrious career playing for Man City. 

In 1965, at the early age of 22, Summerbee was paid £35,000 to transfer to Man City FC, by which stage he had already played an incredible 200 times in League games. Unbelievably, Summerbee's professional career began when he was just 16, playing for Swindon Town. 

Summerbee was a key part of Man City's attacking force for over 10 years; this era of the club's history is widely regarded to be their best. He is easily still one of the club's most beloved and well-respected players and will likely remain so forever. 

Sadly, by the 1980s, Man City's successes had begun to dwindle somewhat. The club would try everything to reclaim the glory they had seen in the '60s and '70s, but their efforts wouldn't really come to fruition until sometime later. However, Man City continued to show plenty of spirit and resolve, armed with the knowledge that, with time and patience, their star would rise again. 

Man City FC in the 21st Century 

By the early 2000s, Man City's profile had begun to climb once more. The club's management was able to tackle some major internal issues, including poor use of funding and subpar performance on the part of some players. As time went on, Man City was slowly able to reclaim the prestigious position they had held decades prior in the 1960s and 1970s. 

This wasn't always easy, though. In fact, by the mid-2000s, Man City was facing real financial issues once again. Fortunately, this all changed when the Abu Dhabi United Group purchased the club. This gave Man City the financial backing they needed to acquire some absolute top-tier players, including Robinho. 

Man City would go on to spend an eye-watering £100 million on signing a further line-up of high-profile players; perhaps unsurprisingly, this quickly paid off in terms of results. Not long after, Man City was back to performing at the highest level in the Premier League and was able to win its way back into the Premier League once again. 

And it probably is understood that this is due in large part to the incredible players who have represented Man City in the 21st century. 

Indeed, Man City's talented players have had some major accomplishments in the 21st century. For example, in 2021, Man City had the highest number of wins in the span of a single month by an English football team. This goes to show the dedication and