Manchester United and Manchester City are the only two teams in English football history to win the treble of the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League.
Both teams were incredible, and Manchester United won the treble in the most dramatic of fashions, scoring two late goals against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou in the 1999 Champions League final.
Andy Cole reckons United’s treble winners would’ve beat the City team from 2023, but, of course, Cole is biased as he was a part of that team.
However, speaking on the BBC Match of the Day Top 10 Podcast, Alan Shearer has shared his view on which side was better.
Shearer was asked to rank the 10 greatest teams to ever win the Champions League, and he put City’s 2023 side ahead of United’s 1999 team.
Alan Shearer says Man City’s treble winners were better than Manchester United’s
Shearer ranked the 10 greatest Champions League winning teams in history.
The pundit picked Manchester United as the sixth best team in the history of the Champions League, saying:
“Unbelievable comeback, they were missing Keane and Scholes weren’t they? They stuck in there though.”
Meanwhile, Shearer ranked City in fifth-place, claiming that they were a brilliant team too.
“That was a brilliant team as well wasn’t it? With Rodri in there, all of them, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Haaland, they were at their peak,” Shearer said.
Manchester City’s treble winners compared to Manchester United
City and United’s respective treble winners are undoubtedly two of the best teams in football history, but the debate around which side is better is one that will divide opinions everywhere.
However, when you just look at the statistics, there’s a case to be made that City were the better team.
| Manchester City 2022/23 | Manchester United 1998/99 | |
|---|---|---|
| 61 | Games | 63 |
| 44 | Wins | 36 |
| 10 | Draws | 22 |
| 7 | Losses | 5 |
| 72% | Win percentage | 57% |
| 151 | Goals scored | 128 |
| 46 | Goals conceded | 63 |
| 89 | Premier League points | 79 |
However, United also had a more difficult run to their FA Cup triumph, beating Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United on their way to the trophy.
Meanwhile, City had a relatively straightforward route to the final as they faced Bristol City, Burnley and Sheffield United in the three rounds prior to beating Manchester United in the final.
The two teams had very comparable Champions League runs, playing against a number of the top sides in Europe.
Eddie Howe reckons Alex Ferguson was a better manager than Pep Guardiola, but Shearer prefers this City team to Man United’s greatest side ever.
Shearer believes that City’s treble winners were the better team, and, regardless of you think is the superior side, we’d pay good money to see these two sides face off at the peak of their powers if that was possible.
