Rockstar Games released the trailer of the long-awaited GTA VI this week, making social media go wild. But among the countless reactions, there were Manchester United fans claiming a Premier League title may be on the horizon.
It may sound a bit far-fetched, but they may have a reason to be optimistic. In every year a GTA game was released, the Red Devils were crowned English champions. It may be a pure coincidence, but some supporters are already leaning on this fun fact to keep their hopes high.
The popular Grand Theft Auto saga has launched five main installments so far. The original game came out in 1997, with its sequel launching two years later. The third installment was released in 2001, while the fourth game was unveiled in 2008. GTA V launched in 2013, the same year Manchester United won their last Premier League title so far.
Manchester United’s titles with every GTA release
The GTA videogames were produced in an era of success at Old Trafford, when Sir Alex Ferguson was still at the helm. In 1997, when the first game came out, United won the league title with 75 points, seven clear of Newcastle, Arsenal, and Liverpool.
Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson lifts the Premier League trophy in 2013.
Two years later, when the second GTA game released, the Red Devils once again claimed the Premier League trophy with 79 points, one above the Gunners. The club went on to win the title in 2000 but made it a three-peat in 2001, when GTA III launched.
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Though Rockstar Games released other games in the meantime, it resumed the GTA main saga with GTA IV in 2008. That year, Manchester United won the Premier League with 87 points, two more than Chelsea. Curiously, their last league success to date came in 2013, when Rockstar Games published GTA V. The company announced GTA VI will launch in 2025, so United fans are already looking forward to that year.
The reasons behind United’s lack of recent success
While this theory is fun, it’s safe to say that United’s title drought is due to other reasons. First of all, Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013 left a huge void as the club never seemed to figure out how to move on, failing with practically every manager since then.
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Many of their signings in the last decade didn’t pay off either, with the club spending record fees for players who failed to impress. Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, Angel Di Maria, and Romelu Lukaku are some of their biggest flops in the post-Ferguson era.
In the meantime, other teams started to take center stage, making United’s title aspirations even more difficult. In the last few years, Manchester City have established themselves as the most dominant club under Pep Guardiola, with Liverpool also challenging for league glory under Jurgen Klopp.
