When did Man Utd last win the Premier League?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 14 Nov 2024 15:29 CST
• 8 min read

Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in world football, in terms of both fanbase and trophies won - but it’s been quite a while now since they last won the Premier League title.

The Red Devils have the third highest numbers of followers across all social media channels of any football club in the world, behind only Real Madrid and Barcelona, and they currently boast the most English top-flight titles of any team in history with 20.

The Old Trafford club have also been the dominant side in England since the introduction of the Premier League in 1992, or at least they were for the first two decades of the competition.

However, after so many years at the top of English football with unprecedented success, the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 led to a remarkable drop-off in performance, with Man Utd failing to win the English top flight since the Scotsman left his role at the helm.

Man Utd's last Premier League title - when was it?

The last time Man Utd won the Premier League title was in the 2012/13 season. The Premier League trophy was clinched on Monday April 22, 2013 thanks to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in which Robin van Persie netted a hat-trick. Van Persie had joined the Red Devils in 2012 from rivals Arsenal and helped fire Man Utd to their most recent Premier League triumph with 26 goals in the league.

So the wait for United fans is getting longer by the minute, with the clock ticking to more than TEN YEARS since their team last ruled English football.

It was Sir Alex Ferguson’s last season in charge and he bowed out of management with his 13th Premier League trophy. His first triumph in the division had come in its first season in 1992/93, which ended a 26-year wait for an English top-flight title.

The most recent title for the Red Devils before 1993 was in the 1966/67 campaign, clinching top spot by four points from Nottingham Forest. That was Sir Matt Busby’s last league title with Man Utd.

In total, Man Utd have won 68 trophies in their history, across domestic, European and international competitions.

Ferguson was in charge for all 13 of Man Utd’s Premier League trophies and his last game in charge of the club was a 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in May 2013.

Man Utd after Sir Alex Ferguson - a title-free zone

Man Utd have failed to win the Premier League since Ferguson left his role in charge in 2013. Their best finish since he departed is second under Jose Mourinho in the 2017/18 season and then under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the 2020/21 season.

In the first season after Ferguson left, David Moyes was in charge for the majority of the season before being sacked before the end of the campaign. Ryan Giggs took charge for the final few games and the Red Devils finished down in seventh place. They accumulated 25 less points than in the season prior.

Louis van Gaal was then appointed ahead of the 2014/15 campaign and guided Man Utd to fourth place and a return to Champions League football. Van Gaal was unable to repeat the trick in the Premier League in 2015/16, with Man Utd finishing in fifth place. The FA Cup he won was merely a consolation prize for losing his job at the end of the season.

The Dutchman was replaced by Mourinho in the summer of 2016 and finished sixth in his first season in charge at Old Trafford. He did however win the Europa League, the League Cup and the Community Shield.

The following year, Mourinho achieved more success in the league, guiding the Red Devils to second place, behind only Manchester City. They were 19 points behind their city rivals, but held off the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Chelsea to finish second.

Mourinho began the 2018/19 season in charge but was sacked in December after a poor run of form. Solskjaer took over on an interim basis and was handed the role on a full-time basis after a famous Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain in March 2019. His team finished only sixth in the Premier League though.

Solskjaer then guided them to third place the following year before backing that up with a second-place finish in the 2020/21 campaign, their joint-best ever since Ferguson left the club.

The Norwegian was sacked though in November 2021 and was replaced by Ralf Rangnick on a deal until the end of the 2021-22 season. The former RB Leipzig head coach finished sixth in the top flight before leaving to take up a role as the Austria national team head coach.

Dutchman Erik ten Hag took charge in 2022 and initially led United to some success, winning two FA Cups, before he was sacked in 2024.

Sporting manager Ruben Amorim replaced Ten Hag and will be hoping to be the man to end United's title drought.

€1.6billion transfer flops - the price of Man Utd failure

Manchester United have spent around €1.6 billion (£1.4billion) on buying new players since Ferguson’s retirement - and right now it does not look like value for money.

Here is the full list of players they have signed, and the transfer fees they have paid:

Season after season, the Red Devils have looked to rectify past transfer flops with even more expensive arrivals, and that strategy hasn’t helped their bid to reclaim the Premier League title.

They have spent over €50m on 12 different players since 2013, with most of these arguably going down as failures rather than success stories.

Their top 10 most expensive purchases since 2013 are: Paul Pogba, Antony, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, Romelu Lukaku, Angel Di Maria, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, and Fred.

Pogba originally left the club on a free transfer in 2012 to join Juventus, and after four years in Turin, he was re-signed by the Red Devils for €105m in 2016. After six years of inconsistent form, Pogba left the club - yet again on a free transfer to Juventus.

The Frenchman was scapegoated during his time at Old Trafford and blamed for their poor form multiple times. The same fate has occurred to Maguire, who was made club captain after just a few months at the club, but has received much criticism for his performances in recent years.

Lukaku and Di Maria both left without leaving too much of an impression, while Sancho has been a major disappointment since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.

What was the last trophy Man Utd won?

The last trophy Man Utd won was the 2024 FA Cup under Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman beat rivals Manchester City in his second successive final in the tournament.