Manchester City has almost 70% of the fans in the city of Manchester. Manchester United boasts nearly 85 percent of the fans in Greater Manchester as a whole. That’s why, despite its smaller size, Old Trafford is considerably simpler to fill than the Etihad Stadium.
City and United both have large followings among fans across the country, but there are more City supporters based in Manchester than United supporters. This is because Man City is much more popular in its home city than United is in Manchester. Additionally, there are more women fans than men fans - 57% vs 43%.
Younger fans are more likely to support Man City, while older fans are more likely to support United. This is because when Man City was founded in 1880, it had one of the first professional football teams in the world and it always been supported by working class people. While modern day United is a product of the postwar boom, it has always attracted wealthy fans who can afford to go to many games.
City has also attracted some famous fans including Prince William who supports the club while his father King Charles III did too. Wills’ choice of team reflects that he is not as interested in football as most people think. He mostly goes to games where he knows he’ll be able to meet other people’s families so they won’t notice he’s there watching the game.
In terms of supporter base, United boasts a larger stadium and more international fans. Anfield has a capacity of 55,000, whereas Old Trafford has a capacity of 78,000. United’s turnover is bigger, owing to its extensive commercial operations. So, in my opinion, there isn’t much in it. Despite the fact that the commercial and fandom components favor Manchester United.
Old Trafford is the home ground of English football club Manchester United. The stadium is located on Invicta Street in Manchester M15 4LH, England. It was built in 1908, and renovated in 1990 with a main stand being added. The all-seater stadium holds 78,500 people with a maximum capacity of 95,000. The record attendance at Old Trafford is 221, 381 for a match between United and Liverpool.
Man U’s annual revenue is $480 million dollars which is second only to Real Madrid. They have been ranked first since 2013 using our method which adjusts for the size of the stadiums and markets.
United’s global fanbase is estimated to be around 5 million people. This makes them the most popular football team in the world. The largest fan base is in Britain where approximately 1.5 million people follow the club. There are also many United supporters in North America, especially in Canada where around 250,000 people support the club.
Old Trafford is the biggest stadium in the UK and the fifth biggest in Europe.
Man City followers are unquestionably more concentrated in the areas around Manchester than Man United fans. Only 28% of British Manchester United followers live in the North West, but 49% of Manchester City fans do. Similarly, only 14% of United fans live in London compared to 26% of City fans.
Almost half (48%) of all Manchester City fans live in the Greater Manchester area, followed by 15% in the East Midlands. For Man United fans these figures are much lower at 9% and 4% respectively.
There are clearly more City fans living in and around Manchester than United fans living in London. However, there are more United fans living in South Yorkshire than City fans too. The most popular regions for both clubs are consistent with their fan bases - 68% and 75% respectively call the North West home.
City and United both have large numbers of supporters in other countries too. In fact, 100% of both sets of fans live outside of Britain. The most significant population of City fans is in Mexico where approximately 2% follow them. There are also small communities in Canada, the USA and Australia. By contrast, only 1% of United fans are in Mexico but they account for 4% of all fans worldwide.
The number of City fans is growing rapidly.
There are places in Manchester where the ratio is around 50/50, but they are few and far between. Old Trafford, where I grew up, was around 75 percent United to 25 percent City. There are simply more United supporters than City supporters in this part of Manchester.
City have been coming here for a while now, but they still only account for about 1 percent of the crowd. They do quite well though - since I started following football, they have won two Premier League titles and one FA Cup.
The game on Sunday will be a sell-out with all tickets sold. There are also some special offers available online if you want to go along.
United won 2-1 thanks to a late City goal. It was actually a free kick that scored them both times. The first time it went into the stands; the second time it came off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
City were playing against 10 men after Pablo Zabaleta was sent off in the 35th minute for elbowing Eric Moyes in the face. He needed eight stitches above his eye and missed the rest of the game.
Moyes took over as manager and led United to victory from then on.
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