Plenty of thrills after squeezing past Gills: City’s rise to the top

The club are in the Champions League final 22 years after escaping Division Two.

Andy Hampson
Wednesday 26 May 2021 07:00 EDT
Champions League finalists Manchester City were playing in the Second Division play-off final in 1999
Champions League finalists Manchester City were playing in the Second Division play-off final in 1999 (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Manchester City who played Gillingham in the Second Division (now League One) play-off final in 1999, are now preparing to face Chelsea in the Champions League final.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key dates in the club’s journey from the English third tier to the top of the European game.

1999: Promoted to First Division (second tier) after beating Gillingham on penalties in Second Division play-off final.

2000: Promoted to Premier League; Phil Foden born.

2001: Relegated to First Division.

2002: Promoted to Premier League

2003: Left Maine Road for City of Manchester (now Etihad) Stadium.

2007: Club taken over by former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

2008: Club sold by Shinawatra to the Abu Dhabi United Group, the investment vehicle of Sheikh Mansour; Robinho signed for British record £32.5million among flurry of big-money deals; Vincent Kompany also joined club.

2009: Carlos Tevez headlined a summer of star signings as he quit Manchester United for City.

2010: Fifth in Premier League; City sign David Silva and Yaya Toure.

2011: Club finish third in Premier League, qualify for Champions League for first time and win FA Cup, their first trophy for 35 years; sign Sergio Aguero.

2012: Win first Premier League title.

2014: Win Premier League and League Cup.

2015: Sign Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.

2016: Win League Cup and reach Champions League semi-finals; Pep Guardiola appointed manager.

2018: Win Premier League with record 100 points and League Cup.

2019: Win domestic treble.

2020: Win League Cup; overturn two-year ban from European competition for Financial Fair Play breaches following appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport; sign Ruben Dias for club record £64.3million.

2021: Win Premier League and League Cup and reach Champions League final for first time.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in