Most crucially, City will still be the centrepiece of Abu Dhabi’s soft power project and in rude financial health, unlike the debt-laden club United were in 2013 - and still are - after years of neglect from the Glazer family.
United have tried almost every profile of manager since Ferguson and they have all failed. The supposed ‘safe hands’ of Moyes, who had a similar upbringing and values to Ferguson and had been in charge of Everton for more than a decade, failed spectacularly. They then tried the total football of Champions League-winning maverick Louis van Gaal, who fared better than Moyes but served up predictable gameplans and alienated many players.
Serial winner Mourinho, a Premier League champion with Chelsea just one year before being appointed, didn’t work out either, and while club man Solskjaer brought a wave of nostalgia and euphoria, he couldn’t get the team to take the next step while his fall was sharp and painful.
Up-and-coming managers like Ten Hag and Amorim, who had huge success in their homelands, have also failed. All appointments, bar perhaps Moyes, were generally greeted enthusiastically by United fans, but they all failed in different ways and for different reasons. City, then, need to heed the warnings of their neighbours.