Manchester City are days away from claiming yet another Premier League title.
It will be their third in the last four years.
Meanwhile, they’re also favourites to win their first ever Champions League trophy before the month is out as they face Chelsea in the final.
Pep Guardiola’s side are, without doubt, the best side not only in England but perhaps the whole continent right now.
But does that make them the ‘biggest?’
City have been transformed into football powerhouses thanks to heavy investment from owner Sheikh Mansour and perhaps lack the history of other big clubs.
But how you define a big club can differ depending on what you’re ranking it on.
Fanbase? Global appeal? History? Current success? Stadium?
It’s certainly a difficult task to compare clubs based on how big they are.
However, it’s a task 90min admirably took on when they decided to rank the 50 biggest clubs in Britain.
So, without further ado, here is their 50-1 ranking of the biggest clubs in England, Scotland and Wales…(sorry Northern Ireland).
50. Hull City
49. Wigan Athletic
48. Millwall
47. Hibernian
46. Coventry City
45. Huddersfield Town
44. Hearts
43. Charlton Athletic
42. (AFC) Wimbledon
41. Preston
50-41 summary
Coventry won the 1987 FA Cup but have since dropped down to League One and are without a permanent stadium.
Huddersfield were the best side in the land in the early 1920s but aren’t too familiar with the top-flight in recent years.
AFC Wimbledon make the top 50 thanks to the success of actual Wimbledon, who won the FA Cup in 1988 while Preston have won two league titles and two FA Cups - but that was a very long time ago now!
40. Bournemouth
39. Swansea City
38. QPR
37. Stoke City
36. Brighton & Hove Albion
35. Cardiff City
34. Ipswich Town
33. Bolton Wanderers
32. Birmingham City
31. Portsmouth
40-31 summary
Brighton are the lowest-ranked Premier League club in the list with no major honours to their name.
Despite winning a UEFA Cup in 1981, Ipswich are only 34th with them currently a League One club.
Bolton have won four FA Cups but, after promotion, will be in League One next season.
Despite winning the FA Cup just in 2008, Portsmouth have been in League One for a few years now and can’t claim to be a big club these days.
30. Norwich City
29. Burnley
28. Aberdeen
27. Watford
26. Middlesbrough
25. Fulham
24. Southampton
23. Sheffield United
22. West Bromwich Albion
21. Crystal Palace
30-21 summary
Aberdeen won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1983 which ranks them above several Premier League clubs.
Elsewhere, many of these clubs have spent recent years in the lower reaches of the Premier League or The Championship.
20. Derby County
19. Blackburn Rovers
18. Sheffield Wednesday
17. Wolverhampton Wanderers
16. Sunderland
15. Leicester City
14. Nottingham Forest
13. Rangers
12. West Ham United
11. Newcastle United
20-11 summary
Now we’re getting serious.
Derby survived getting relegated to the third tier of English football on the final day of the season but they make the top 20 thanks to two English First Division titles and the 1946 FA Cup.
However, Derby’s opponents on the final day, Sheffield Wednesday, couldn’t beat the drop despite being ranked as the 18th biggest side in Britain. That’s because they’ve won four English First Divisions, three FA Cups and a League Cup.
Another League One side features in the form of Sunderland, who are ranked 16th despite their recent plight.
Two-time European Cup winners, Nottingham Forest, find themselves in 14th having been consigned to the Football League in the last decade.
A club with 55 league titles, 60 cups and a Cup Winners’ Cup are in 13th in the form of Scottish champions Rangers.
West Ham and Newcastle both narrowly miss out on a top 10 spot.
10. Leeds United
9. Aston Villa
8. Everton
7. Manchester City
6. Tottenham Hotspur
5. Celtic
4. Chelsea
3. Arsenal
2. Liverpool
1. Manchester United
10-1 summary
So, Manchester United are the biggest club in Britain.
With 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups, five League Cups, three European Cups, a Cup Winners’ Cup, a Europa League and a FIFA Club World Cup, it’s difficult to argue, isn’t it?
Liverpool may have won three more European Cups but they’re one behind United’s league tally having won just one in the last 30 years.
Interestingly, Arsenal are in third despite their recent struggles and Chelsea are fourth.
Scottish side, Celtic, are ranked above Tottenham (6th), Manchester City (7th), Everton (8th), Aston Villa (9th) and Leeds (10th).
Now, we sure that list won’t cause any arguments or disagreement…