A new study has claimed to reveal the best Premier League managers of all time – and Sir Alex Ferguson

Since the Premier League began in 1992, Manchester United boast as having the best Boxing Day record of any team in the competition.

United finished a relatively respectable 12th, whereas the Citizens fared much worse, ending up 67th, with several other clubs around them also having had recent large investments.

On a day where Manchester City was congratulated by the chancellor on its community credentials and Chelsea became the first Premiership football team to obtain full Living Wage status, the spotlight has now fallen on Manchester United to follow suit, fans have said.

Six years on, after having not won a major trophy since 1970, there now stand four gleaming trophies in City’s cabinet, signalling that their brightest era has just begun

Dutch dynamo Robin van Persie was sold for £24million from the north London club to their great rivals United in 2012 and Van Persie promptly racked up 30 goals to propel the Old Trafford outfit to a record 20th league title.

With relative fortunes said to be at the disposal of the new United manager next season, a plethora of new faces are expected to arrive at Old Trafford this summer

United knocked out of Champions League by holders Bayern and face a spell without top European competition

United in Germany for this evening’s Champions League crunch match against holders Bayern Munich with the tie even at 1-1

Spaniard Mata was in full flow against Newcastle at the weekend as United prepare to take on the mighty Bayern Munich in the Champions League this week

The biggest sides in England and Germany first met in 1998 and since then their clashes have been hard-fought and action-packed