The period from 1986, when Alex Ferguson was appointed as Manchester United manager, to 2013, when he announced his retirement from football, was the most successful in the club's history. Ferguson joined the club from Aberdeen on the same day that Ron Atkinson was dismissed,Barnes et al. (2001), p. 21 and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league.Barnes et al. (2001), p. 148 Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the club was back in 11th place the following season.Barnes et al. (2001), pp. 148–9 Reportedly on the verge of being dismissed after the club finished 13th in the 1989-90 season, victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final replay (after a 3–3 draw) saved Ferguson's career. The following season, Manchester United claimed their first UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. That triumph allowed the club to compete in the European Super Cup for the very first time, where United beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance in 1992 saw the club win that competition for the first time as well, following a 1–0 win against Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium.Barnes et al. (2001), pp. 20–1 In 1993, the club won its first league title since 1967, and a year later, for the first time since 1957, it won a second consecutive title – alongside the FA Cup – to complete the first "Double" in the club's history. United then became the first English club to do the Double twice when they won both competitions again in 1995–96, before retaining the league title once more in 1996–97 with a game to spare.
Manchester United's 1998–99 season was the most successful in English club football history as they became the first team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League – "The Treble" – in the same season. Losing 1–0 going into injury time in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored late goals to claim a dramatic victory over Bayern Munich, in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks of all time. The club then became the only British team to ever win the Intercontinental Cup after beating Palmeiras 1–0 in Tokyo. Ferguson was subsequently knighted for his services to football.
In 2000, Manchester United competed in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, and won the league again in 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2002–03. They won the 2003–04 FA Cup – beating Millwall 3–0 in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff – and the 2005–06 Football League Cup – beating Wigan Athletic in the final. The club regained the Premier League title in 2006–07 and 2007–08, making history in the latter by completing the European double with a 6–5 penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. Ryan Giggs made a record 759th appearance for the club in this game, overtaking previous record holder, Bobby Charlton. In December 2008, the club became the first British team to win the FIFA Club World Cup and followed it with a third successive Premier League title, the first time any team had won three successive league titles more than once. In 2010, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 to retain the League Cup and mark their first successful defence of a knockout cup competition. The following season was even more successful, as the club secured a record-breaking 19th league title, overtaking arch-rivals Liverpool's long-standing record of 18 titles that they had equalled in 2009, with a 1–1 draw against Blackburn Rovers on 14 May 2011. That record was extended to 20 titles in 2013, in what proved to be Ferguson's final season at the club. He retired as the most decorated manager in football history.
Arrival of Alex Ferguson and cup successes: 1986–1992 Alex Ferguson joined Manchester United from Aberdeen on 6 November 1986, the same day that previous manager Ron Atkinson was dismissed, and immediately set about rebuilding the club's youth system.Barnes et al. (2001), p. 56 In Ferguson's first game in charge, the team lost 2–0 to Oxford United; his first victory came on 22 November 1986, a 1–0 defeat of Queens Park Rangers at Old Trafford. Over the next few weeks, results continued to improve, and on Boxing Day 1986, the team beat Liverpool 1–0 at Anfield – the club's only away league win of the season, and the only home defeat of the season for their hosts. United's improvement continued throughout the season, despite no new signings being made, and they finished 11th in a First Division where Everton finished champions and Liverpool runners-up, representing the dominance of English football by the Merseyside clubs at the time.
That summer, Ferguson made his first signings: defender Viv Anderson from Arsenal, and striker Brian McClair from Celtic. Ferguson also made bids to sign Stuart Pearce from Nottingham Forest and Peter Beardsley from Newcastle United, but both offers were rejected. The following season, Manchester United finished runners-up in the league, nine points behind champions Liverpool, giving supporters cause to be optimistic for a title challenge in the 1988–89 season. These hopes were strengthened by the return of Mark Hughes two years after his departure to Barcelona; his £1.8 million fee that took him back to Old Trafford was United's record signing. United also signed Scottish goalkeeper Jim Leighton from Aberdeen and teenage winger Lee Sharpe from Torquay United, but were pipped to midfielder Paul Gascoigne by Tottenham Hotspur in the first £2 million signing by a British club.
After suffering a number of injuries to first-team players in the 1988–89 season, Ferguson introduced a host of young players into the team – including Sharpe as well as Russell Beardsmore (who inspired United to a 3–1 win over Liverpool on New Year's Day 1989). A six-match winning run beginning in January saw the club rise to third place in February, but it finished the season in 11th after a slump set in during the seasons' final quarter. The champions this time were Arsenal, who had re-emerged as a leading force in the English game since the appointment of former United player George Graham as manager. Most worryingly, United finished below the likes of Norwich City, Coventry City and Millwall.
Ferguson responded that summer by strengthening his squad with expensive signings in the shape of midfielders Neil Webb and Mike Phelan, followed by a club record £2.3 million signing of defender Gary Pallister and lower fees for winger Danny Wallace and midfielder Paul Ince in the early stages of the 1989–90 season. The continuing changes in the United squad had just seen the sale of two players who had been the centerpiece of the Atkinson era – Paul McGrath and Norman Whiteside. While McGrath would continue playing top-flight football into the late 1990s, Whiteside would play for just two more years before continuing injury problems finally forced him to hang up his boots at the age of just 26.
In August 1989, the club received a takeover bid by Michael Knighton; chairman Martin Edwards agreed to sell the club to Knighton for £20 million, but the deal fell through when his financial backers pulled out. The season had started with United in fine form, beating defending champions Arsenal 4–1 at home on the opening day of the season, but disappointing results soon followed and by January 1990, United stood 17th in the league – just one place above the relegation zone. It was now 23 years since United had been league champions, but one respected sports journalist in The Times was keen to point out that it would now appear more relevant that it had been 16 years since United had last been relegated.
By November 1989, newspaper reports suggested that Ferguson was on the verge of being sacked, although the United board denied that the manager's job was at risk; despite naturally disappointed with the lack of success in the league, they understood the reasons – namely the lengthy absence of key players including Bryan Robson and Neil Webb through injury. But victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final replay (after a 3–3 draw) saved his career. However, the club finished 13th, their lowest league placing since returning to the top flight in 1975; just five points separated them from the relegation zone. Liverpool were league champions that season for an English record 18th time.
With the ban on English clubs in European competitions now lifted after five years, the FA Cup success qualified the team to compete in the 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup; Manchester United reached the final, in which the club beat Barcelona 2–1 at De Kuip in Rotterdam, becoming the first English club to win a European trophy since the Heysel disaster had forced English clubs into a five-year ban from European competition. United's league form improved in 1990–91 with a sixth-place finish, and their defence of the FA Cup ended in the fifth round, with a 2–1 loss against Norwich City. The club reached the 1991 League Cup Final, but lost to Sheffield Wednesday. This season also saw the debut of teenage winger Ryan Giggs, who became a regular member of the first team the following season and went on to win more than 20 major trophies with the club before retiring as a player in 2014.
In June 1991, Manchester United floated on the London Stock Exchange, with a valuation of £18 million, raising £6.7 million.Dobson & Goddard (2004), p. 191
New to the United squad for the 1991–92 season were goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and defender Paul Parker, but the big news of the season was the breakthrough of teenage winger Ryan Giggs, who had made his debut the previous season and played in most of United's games in 1991–92. Strong performances from Schmeichel, Parker, Giggs and established players like Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Mark Hughes, Brian McClair and the veteran Bryan Robson helped United take an early lead in the title race, and by Christmas the title race was looking increasingly like a two-horse race between Manchester United and a resurgent Leeds United, with pre-season favourites Arsenal and Liverpool failing to impress. United ended 1991 with just one league defeat of the season to their name, but then lost 4–1 at home to unfashionable Queens Park Rangers on New Year's Day, and over the next three months goals dried up and United dropped points against the likes of Coventry City, Wimbledon, Notts County and Luton Town – teams they had been widely expected to beat. United were constantly linked with the signature of 21-year-old Southampton striker Alan Shearer, but the player refused to consider a transfer from the South Coast club until the end of the season, and so United went into the final stages of the title race with a tough battle on their hands, although a few disappointing results for Leeds United meant that the race was still wide open with just two weeks of the season remaining.
With three games to go, United were one point behind league leaders Leeds United, but the West Yorkshire club had played a game more. United then travelled to a West Ham United side heading for relegation and knew that a victory would put the title race in their hands and the end of the 25-year wait was potentially just four days away – and could be won on the home soil of their fierce rivals Liverpool. But United lost 1–0. On 26 April 1992, the team lost 2–0 to Liverpool at Anfield and Leeds (spearheaded by former United midfielder Gordon Strachan, who had joined them in March 1989 when they were still in the Second Division) secured the league title. However, the team had won the League Cup two weeks earlier, defeating Nottingham Forest 1–0 in the final. At the end of the season, 18-year-old Welsh winger Ryan Giggs was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.
Premier League success: 1992–1995