5 Manchester United Nicknames You Didn’t Know

Manchester United are one of the most successful and valuable clubs in world football. They’ve had a breadth of talent play for them over the years, including Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and more.

They also have one of the most iconic nicknames in the world. Often referred to as ‘The Red Devils’, Manchester United make up the red half of one of the biggest cities in England, sharing Manchester with their arch rivals Manchester City.

In this article, we’re going to look at all the different nicknames associated with the club and how those names came to fruition. If this is something you’re interested in learning about, we recommend reading on.

What Are Manchester United’s Nicknames?

Manchester United have the following 5 nicknames:

• The Red Devils
• The Busby Babes
• The Heathens
• The Reds
• United

The Red Devils

The main nickname associated with Man United is ‘The Red Devils’ and it’s arguably one of the most iconic football nicknames in history. So, how did Manchester United receive this nickname? Well, we have to go back to the era when Matt Busby was manager of the club.

At the time, Manchester United were nicknamed ‘The Busby Babes’ and this was due to the fact that Busby was a big advocate of playing youth players. But in order to end up with the nickname ‘The Red Devils’, we need to have a look at Salford Rugby club.

The first rugby club to ever be invited to tour France, Salford (who also play in red kits) toured the country in October & November in 1934. Having played and convincingly won all of their 6 matches, a French sports journalist gave the club the nickname ‘Les Diables Rouges’. This, when translated to English, means ‘The Red Devils’.

Busby had become aware of the nickname given to the rugby club, and grew fond of it. He believed that it was a much more intimidating nickname than ‘The Busby Babes’. Following the tragic events that took place during the Munich air disaster in 1958, the club felt that it would be a good idea to stop using the Busby Babes nickname. From there on in, they adopted the nickname ‘The Red Devils’.

The Busby Babes

The second most common nickname associated with Manchester United is ‘The Busby Babes’, again this nickname came to fruition under Scottish manager Matt Busby. After winning back to back league titles in 1956 and 1957, with a squad that had an average age of just 22, English media gifted the side with this nickname.

The Busby Babes is a nod to the faith that Busby put in his young players during those successful campaigns. During 1957, the club became the first English side to play in the European Cup. Chelsea had wanted to become the first side to do this in 1956, but the football league blocked their efforts to do so.

United lost in the semi-final to Real Madrid, however during the cup campaign, they recorded their biggest ever victory, which was a 10-0 win against Belgian side Anderlecht.

The Heathens

Another Manchester United nickname is ‘The Heathens’. This was used prior to when the club was called Manchester United, and was called Newton Heath LYR Football Club. They were known as this from the time of their formation in 1878 to 1902.

Newton Heath is an area located in the east of Manchester, where the football club was founded. ‘The Heathens’ was a simple nickname curated by its fans at the time.

The Reds

Similar to other teams that play in red kits, Manchester United have often been referred to as ‘The Reds’ by its fans, the media and pundits. Simple but effective, this nickname is common amongst fan bases with clubs that have red home shirts, such as Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, who also adopt this nickname on a regular basis.

United

It’s rare to go to Old Trafford and not hear sections of fans refer to their side as ‘United’. Another popular nickname for the red half of Manchester, fans will chant ‘United, united, united’ over and over again whilst their side is playing.

Although there are many teams referred to as ‘United’, including Newcastle United, Sheffield United and West Ham United, Manchester United are arguably the biggest club that has united in its name. 

Conclusion

Manchester United nicknames are easy to come by. As one of the biggest clubs in world football, they have acquired a number of nicknames over the years. ‘The Red Devils’, is Man United’s main nickname and is one of the most memorable nicknames in sports history. In addition, they have some fan-driven nicknames including ‘The Heathens’, ‘The Reds’ and ‘United’.

Will we see any new Manchester United nicknames come to light in the near future? We’ll have to wait and see, however it looks like the nickname ‘The Red Devils’ is here to stay.

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