Ian JohnOnly two clubs in the history of the English game have landed a treble win. And both of them hail from Manchester.
Back in 1999, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team landed the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the space of a few days.
Then this past year, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City confirmed their victories in the same three competitions. Although those wins took place over several weeks.
Fans of both those teams, and many others, are already arguing over which treble win was the best.
So let’s take a look at the facts and stats to see if we can answer the question:
Whose Treble Win Was Better, City of United’s?
To do that, let’s compare the two squads of each team for their Treble Winning Season:
Treble Winning Squads
| Manchester United 1998/99 | V | Manchester City 2022/23 | ||||
| Pos. | Player | Tran. Fee | Pos | Player | Tran.Fee | |
| GK | Peter Schmeichel | £505,000 | GK | Ederson | £35m | |
| DR | Gary Neville | £0 | DR | Kyle Walker | £45m | |
| DL | Denis Irwin | £625,000 | DLR | Rico Lewis | £0 | |
| DC | David May | £1.2m | DC | Ruben Dias | £62m | |
| DC | Ronny Johnsen | £1.2m | DRL | Nathan Ake | £40m | |
| DC | Jaap Stam | £10.6m | DC | John Stones | £47.5m | |
| MR | David Beckham | £0 | DMC | Rodri | £62.8m | |
| MC | Nicky Butt | £0 | MC | Kalvin Phillips | £42m | |
| AC | Andy Cole | £7m | AC | Erling Haaland | £51.2m | |
| AC | Teddy Sheringham | £3.5m | AML | Phil Foden | £0 | |
| ML | Ryan Giggs | £0 | MLC | Bernardo Silva | £43.5m | |
| DRL | Phil Neville | £0 | DC | Aymeric Laporte | £57m | |
| DRC | John Curtis | £0 | GK | Stefan Ortega | £0 | |
| AML | Jordi Cruyff | £1.4m | DLC | Manuel Akanji | £15m | |
| AMR | Jesper Blomquist | £4.4m | MC | Ilkay Gundogan | £20m | |
| MC | Roy Keane | £3.75m | MRC | Kevin de Bruyne | £54.5m | |
| GK | Rai. Van der Gouw | £500,000 | DRC | Sergio Gomez | £11m | |
| MC | Paul Scholes | £0 | MC | Maximo Perrone | £8.2m | |
| AC | Dwight Yorke | £12.6m | AML | Cole Palmer | £0 | |
| AC | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | £1.5m | AMR | Jack Grealish | £100m | |
| DRC | Henning Berg | £5m | AML | Riyad Mahrez | £60m | |
| AC | Erik Nevland | £400,000 | AC | Julian Alvarez | £14.1m | |
| DRC | Wes Brown | £0 | GK | Scott Carson | £0 | |
| MRC | Jonathan Greening | £500,000 | ||||
| Man | Sir Alex Ferguson | Man | Pep Guardiola | |||
| Total Spend | £54.68m | Total Spend | £768.8m | |||
Of course, we cannot compare the two spends until we have adjusted the amounts for inflation. But even then if we take the prices United paid for players as being in 1998, that totals just over £99m in 2023.
So, if we look at the cost to club per the three trophies they won:
- Each trophy cost 1999 Manchester United £33m in transfer fees at 2023 rates.
- Each trophy cost Manchester City £256.27m in transfer fees at 2023 rates.
However, that actual number should be worse for City. A number of players that they have spent big money on (Zack Steffen, Joao Cancelo, Benjamin Mendy) are not included in the figures above.
At modest estimates, the trio would add an estimated £90m to £100m to that transfer fee total.
That would make City’s spend per trophy closer to £300m.
Perhaps unsurprisingly therefore, Manchester United come out on top in terms of value for money they got from their squad.
Although it should be remembered that the exceptional Class of ’92 played a key role in their success in 1998 to 1999. Not one of those players cost United a penny in transfer fees.
Let’s now continue to compare the two Manchester giants based on their performances in each of the three tournaments they won.
Premier League Comparison
| Manchester United 1999 | V | Manchester City 2023 |
| 38 | Games Played | 38 |
| 22 | Won | 28 |
| 13 | Drew | 5 |
| 3 | Lost | 5 |
| 80 | Goals Scored | 94 |
| 37 | Goals Conceded | 33 |
| 79 | Points | 89 |
| +43 | Goal Difference | +61 |
| Nottm For 1-8 Man Utd | Biggest Win | Man City 6-0 Nottm Forest |
| 3-0 v Arsenal (A) | Biggest Defeat | 2-1 v Man Utd (A), Brentford (H) |
| Dwight Yorke (18) | Leading Goalscorer | Erling Haaland (36) |
| Beckham, Yorke (11) | Leading Assists | Kevin de Bruyne (16) |
| 13 | Defensive Clean Sheets | 13 |
| Gary Neville (RB), Jaap Stam (DC), Denis Irwin (DL), David Beckham (MR), Dwight Yorke (AC) – 5 | PFA Team of the Year Picks | N/A (announced 29th August) |
| PL POTS – Dwight Yorke, PL MOTS – Alex Ferguson | Awards | N/A (announced 29th August) |
| 55,188 | Average Attendance | 53,249 |
It is worth noting that United finished just one point ahead of Arsenal in the league in 1999, while Man City finished five points clear of Arsenal.
That despite picking up just one point from their last two games.
City also scored 14 more goals and conceded four fewer. They also had the same number of clean sheets as that Manchester United team.
We are not sure how many City players will make it into the PFA Team of the Year or if any will win individual awards. These are now not announced until the start of the new season in August.
However, it would be astonishing if a number of City players are not selected.
In fact, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland all stand a very good chance of being included.
FA Cup Comparison
| Manchester United 1999 | V | Manchester City 2023 |
| Man Utd 3-1 Middlesbrough | 3rd Round | Man City 4-0 Chelsea |
| Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool | 4th Round | Man City 1-0 Arsenal |
| Man Utd 1-0 Fulham | 5th Round | Bristol City 0-3 Man City |
| Man Utd 0-0 Chelsea | Quarter Finals | Man City 6-0 Burnley |
| Chelsea 0-2 Man Utd | Quarter Final Replay | N/A |
| Arsenal 0-0 Man Utd | Semi Final (N) | Man City 3-0 Sheff Utd |
| Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal | Semi Final Replay (N) | N/A |
| Man Utd 2-0 Newcastle Utd | Final (N) | Man City 2-1 Man Utd |
| 12 | Goals Scored | 19 |
| 3 | Goals Conceded | 1 |
| Dwight Yorke (3) | Leading Goalscorer | Riyad Mahrez (5) |
City conceded just one goal in winning the FA Cup, ironically conceded in the final against United, who conceded three in their success in 1999.
Both teams had a tough run to the final with United probably having the tougher run facing Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and then Newcastle in the final. City also faced Chelsea and Arsenal and then faced United in the final.
Champions League Comparison
| Manchester United 1999 | V | Manchester City 2023 |
| Man Utd 2-0 LKS Lodz | Qualifying 1st Leg | N/A |
| LKS Lodz 0-0 Man Utd | Qualifying 2nd Leg | N/A |
| Man Utd 3-3 Barcelona | Group Stage 1 | Sevilla 0-4 Man City |
| Bayern Munich 2-2 Man Utd | Group Stage 2 | Man City 2-1 B.Dortmund |
| Brondby 2-6 Man Utd | Group Stage 3 | Man City 5-0 Copenhagen |
| Man Utd 5-0 Brondby | Group Stage 4 | Copenhagen 0-0 Man City |
| Barcelona 3-3 Man Utd | Group Stage 5 | B.Dortmind 0-0 Man City |
| Man Utd 1-1 Bayern Munich | Group Stage 6 | Man City 3-1 Sevilla |
| N/A | Round of 16 1 | RB Leipzig 1-1 Man City |
| N/A | Round of 16 2 | Man City 7-0 RB Leipzig |
| Man Utd 2-0 Inter | Quarter Finals 1st | Man City 3-0 Bayern Munich |
| Inter 1-1 Man Utd | Quarter Finals 2nd | Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City |
| Man Utd 1-1 Juventus | Semi Finals 1st | Real Madrid 1-1 Man City |
| Juventus 2-3 Man Utd | Semi Finals 2nd | Man City 4-0 Real Madrid |
| Bayern Munich 1-2 Man Utd | Final (N) | Man City 1-0 Inter |
| 13 | CL Games Played | 13 |
| 6 | Won | 8 |
| 7 | Drew | 5 |
| 0 | Lost | 0 |
| 31 | Goals Scored | 32 |
| 16 | Goals Conceded | 5 |
| +15 | Goal Difference | +27 |
| Dwight Yorke (8) | Leading Scorer | Erling Haaland (12) |
United’s last gasp success against Bayern Munich in the final was against the run of play in that game but the two legendary late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer turned things around and handed United a surprise win.
City though were always favourites to win the tournament from the off and proved it. Incredibly, conceding a scarcely believable 5 goals across all their group stage and knockout phase games.
Both teams came through tough games to win their respective tournaments and so it is hard to judge which one of these was the better.
The Verdict?
Both treble win are incredible achievements and it is difficult to decide which one is better.
City’s was more spectacular in terms of the quality of play, but they did spend a huge amount to get that and took a long time to win the Champions League.
United’s was more dramatic, especially in the CL Final and final day of the PL season, but they spent a lot less, and don’t have 115 breaches of financial fair play hanging over them.
So until those issues are resolved, I’d have to say that United’s treble success is the better of the two.
Though that would change if City are exonerated from those charges.
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