Manchester City players full of praise for fans after massive turnout for Premier League title victory parade

FANS: Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero

By Ben Burrows & Sean-Paul Doran

Manchester City’s victorious players were today full of praise for the club’s long-suffering fans after 100,000 people lined the streets of Manchester tonight to celebrate their first league title for 44 years.

As Sergio Aguero’s 94th strike reverberated around the Etihad yesterday, the noise was no less ferocious on the city’s streets today.

Some of Manchester’s best known landmarks were covered in a sea of blue, which delighted fans young and old, as well as the victorious players, who are still coming to terms with their achievement.

Captain Vincent Kompany tweeted yesterday: “No words can describe this feeling! This team has worked hard, the fans have suffered long time, today we bring the trophy home for you!”

Kompany was on hand today to lift the trophy alongside his manager Roberto Mancini outside the town hall.

An expected, 12,000 fans were there to witness it, with Albert Square closed at 5pm as it was already at full capacity.

Kompany tweeted again this morning: “Met City fans this morning and hearing what it meant to them and how they experienced the last 5min of this mad season is priceless!#MCFC.”

“4 years at this club and we've had to endure so much unfair criticism. Yesterday proved it's about football and nothing else!”

Samir Nasri joined his skipper on Twitter and said: “Best feeling ever thank you so much guys you were amazing” and added: “Champioonnnnnnnnnnnnnn.”

The parade took in Albert Square, Princess Street, Portland Street and Deansgate before finishing at Manchester Arena.

People were hanging out of windows and climbing buildings – one opportunist die-hard even scaled a street sign – all to get a glimpse of the historic moment.

Man of the moment Aguero wrote last night: “Thank you, thank you all! Football, life, my family, City, Argentina, the fans... a complete and total thanks!”

Joleon Lescott, whose mistake led to QPR’s first goal yesterday, uploaded a picture of his 2011/12 league winners medal and wrote: “There are only 21 other people in the world with this medal. #speechless.”

Joe Hart, who was as much of a spectator yesterday as many of the fans, said: “I didn't think it was going to happen to be perfectly honest. The place was shaking, I was shaking.”

“You lose control in situations like that. It was one of the best and most dramatic days of my life,” he added.

Renditions of ‘City til I die’ and ‘Blue Moon’, coupled with vuvuzelas reminiscent of Johannesburg in the 2010 World Cup, rang out long into the spring night.

City fans will hope it’s not another 44 years until they can do so once again.