Manchester United and Manchester City had only rarely been rivals, but the takeover at the Etihad has refreshed the antipathy between the two.
For a long time, United fans had looked down upon City for being their inferiors. They did not have any European success, they had one league title, and their best players did not come close to matching theirs. Before the arrival of Abu Dhabi, a best-ever 11 would have been entirely made up of United players.
In turn, City fans would make fun of United for being from Salford, not Manchester, a largely meaningless, technical distinction. But one that could be allied by United’s ‘plastic’ fans from outside the region, happy to put on a red shirt and bathe in reflected, unearned glory. That accusation was not without merit.
Of course, with City having had their success bought for them, along with Kevin De Bruyne, Pep Guardiola, and other figures possessing genius, the same criticism can be levelled at their fans now. Not that they care - they are winning trophies and finally enjoying being far the better side, with a much better future in sight.
And that is where the tension rests between the two sides. Once Alex Ferguson retired, the noisy neighbour pulled away and added one trophy after another.
The argument can boil down into a set of reversed roles. City are the side that attracts glory hunters, the ones who can spend hundreds of millions of pounds on left-backs for a single manager, and whose prominence is based on ersatz glamour.
Those arguments are used by United fans rarely out of principle, but mainly in response to disappointment that their own club has frittered away their resources, had their reputation damaged by their unambitious owners, and who look at their past for credibility rather than make a real fist of challenging their city rivals.
Manchester City vs. Manchester United head-to-head record
Manchester United lead in the head-to-head record between the two teams, with 78 wins to Macnhester City's 58; the remaining 53 matches have finished as draws.
Manchester United trophy record
Manchester United have won a record 20 League titles, 12 FA Cups, six League Cups, and a record 21 FA Community Shields. They have won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League three times, and the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup once each.
Manchester City trophy record
Domestically, the club has won Eight League titles, six FA Cups, eight League Cups and six FA Community Shields. In international competitions, the club has won one European Cup' Winners Cup.
Manchester City's biggest win against Manchester United
Manchester City 6-1 Manchester United (twice), 23 January 1926 and 23 October 2011
Manchester United's biggest win against Manchester City
Manchester United 5-0 Manchester City, 10 October 1994