“We are glad to see a lot of blue shirts,” Pep Guardiola said as he sat in the iconic Yankee Stadium in New York. “When we started seven or eight years ago, there was not much, and now because of how these players have behaved in the past, it’s really nice to come to the stadiums and see a lot of blue shirts, it’s a lot of pride.” Advertisement It is hard to stand out in New York City, but in the hours leading up to Manchester City ’s game with AC Milan last weekend, you could not go far without seeing somebody wearing one of those blue shirts.
Whether groups of friends or whole families, City jerseys, often with ‘Haaland 9’ on the back, were probably even more common than the classic yellow taxi — traditionalists may be disappointed to learn that many of those have been phased out in recent years. City’s presence in America is growing . According to statistics provided by Nielsen, the sports analytics company, City have 32million followers in the States.
Across last season, their live match audience in the country grew 10 per cent. Official supporters club membership grew by 27 per cent. Official club memberships have increased 303 per cent since the 2021-22 season.
The data suggests that one in three U.S. fans are yet to pick a team.
City want it to be them and between the on-pitch success and off-field access to players, trophies and legends, they are giving it a good go. “There were so many blue shirts in the stands,” says Jimmy, a New York-based.