Comparing Guardiola’s trophy haul at Man City to Ferguson’s at Man Utd
Pep Guardiola and Alex Ferguson have been compared at length ever since the Spanish manager came to prominence at Barcelona, but how do their trophy cabinets at the two Manchester clubs compare?
Ferguson is considered by many to be the greatest manager of all time and his success with United returned the Old Trafford club to the top of the English and European game.
He joined the club from Aberdeen in 1986 and retired at the end of the 2012-13 campaign, concluding a 27-year stint in charge.
Guardiola, however, became a top-flight manager in 2008 and is largely accepted as the greatest coach of his generation. The Catalan tactician joined City in 2016 and has now been at the club for eight seasons. In that time he’s given the club unprecedented levels of domestic dominance, with only Ferguson’s achievements comparable.
When asked who the greatest manager of all time is, Guardiola told Sky Sports: “Sir Alex Ferguson, I would say. And after that, close close close, Johann Cruyff, and then I would say Arrigo Sacchi.
“Sir Alex number one. For the amount of consistency. For the amount of titles. For the amount of change, dynamics.”
Guardiola’s success domestically has been immensely impressive. City won a clean sweep of all domestic trophies in 2019, becoming the only English team to ever do so.
In 2023, they also had a fantastic year on the European stage as they added the Champions League, Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to their trophy cabinet.
They also made history this season by winning an unprecedented four Premier League titles on the bounce, something that even Ferguson’s United side never managed.
We’ve taken a look at how Guardiola’s trophy cabinet at City compares to Ferguson’s at United. Admittedly, Guardiola is nowhere near Ferguson’s total of 27 years in Manchester so we’ve also looked at their trophies per season record.
Alex Ferguson at Man Utd
Domestic
– League titles: 13 (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)
– FA Cups: 5 (1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004)
– League Cups: 4 (1992, 2006, 2009, 2010)
– Charity/Community Shields: 10 (1990 shared, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
European/World
– Champions League: 2 (1999, 2008)
– European Cup Winners’ Cup: 1 (1991)
– European Super Cup: 1 (1991)
– Intercontinental Cup: 1 (1999)
– FIFA Club World Cup: 1 (2008)
Total: 38
Trophies per season: 1.4
READ NEXT: Ranking Pep Guardiola’s 13 weirdest signings: Zlatan, Bravo, Hleb…
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Sir Alex Ferguson’s 30 most-used players at Man Utd?
Pep Guardiola at Man City
Domestic
– League titles: 6 (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
– FA Cups: 2 (2019, 2023) [*2024 final to come]
– League Cups: 4 (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
– Community Shields: 2 (2018, 2019)
European/World
– Champions League: 1 (2023)
– European Super Cup 1 (2023)
– FIFA Club World Cup 1 (2023)