From the third tier to the Treble: City's incredible rise

Remember City in the third tier?

It may be hard to imagine now, but in 1998–99 this club was in England's third tier. In the promotion play-off final they trailed 2–0, scored in the 90th minute and in stoppage time, and went up on penalties.

The club's old name was Ardwick. City left Maine Road for the Etihad Stadium in 2003, a ground originally built as the main stadium of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Fans sing Blue Moon, and are known for the Poznan, a celebration copied from Lech Poznań fans after the two clubs met in the 2010 Europa League.

A 35-year drought and 93:20

The change began in the 2011 FA Cup. Yaya Touré's winner beat Stoke 1–0 and ended a 35-year wait for a major trophy.

The final day of the next season produced one of the most famous moments in Premier League history. Against QPR, Balotelli fell as he played the ball back to Agüero, who scored at 93 minutes and 20 seconds for a 3–2 win and City's first Premier League title. Agüero went on to become the club's top scorer with 260 goals in 390 games. David Silva, the wizard who wore 21 for 10 years, is now remembered with a statue outside the Etihad.

Guardiola's record factory

The 2017–18 team are known as the Centurions. Gabriel Jesus scored a stoppage-time winner at Southampton on the final day to reach exactly 100 points. In 2019, defender Vincent Kompany's long-range winner against Leicester helped City pip Liverpool by a point, and a 6–0 FA Cup final win over Watford completed the first domestic Treble by an English men's team.

The final day of 2021–22 brought another miracle. City were 2–0 down to Aston Villa when Gündoğan, Rodri and Gündoğan again scored in just five minutes to win the title.

Haaland, the Treble and the next era

Erling Haaland arrived from Dortmund in 2022 and scored 36 goals in 35 games in his first season, a Premier League single-season record at the time. His father, Alfie Haaland, also played for City from 2000.

In 2022–23, City won the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League. In the semi-final they beat Real Madrid 4–0, with Bernardo Silva scoring twice in the first half. In the final, Rodri's long-range shot beat Inter 1–0 for the club's first European title. The next season brought a fourth straight league title, the first time that had happened since the league began in 1888.

In 2026, Enzo Maresca, who once coached under Guardiola, took over and a new era began.