# 1999–2000 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1999–2000 season was Manchester United's eighth season in the Premier League, and their 25th consecutive season in the top division of English football. United won the Premier League title for the sixth time in eight seasons (with a record 18-point margin and 97 goals scored) as well as becoming the first English club to win the Intercontinental Cup when they defeated Palmeiras in Tokyo. However, they surrendered their Champions League title with a 3–2 defeat by eventual champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. The club controversially did not defend their FA Cup crown, upon request by The Football Association, to compete in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil instead.
Mark Bosnich, previously at United as a reserve goalkeeper from 1989 to 1991, returned to the club as Peter Schmeichel's successor, but failed to live up to expectations and in September, the club swooped for Italian Massimo Taibi to provide competition for him. However, Taibi suffered some high-profile mistakes and returned to his homeland at the end of the season after just four games for the club. As the season wore on, long-time reserve goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw was increasingly called on as the starting goalkeeper, and proved a fairly reliable performer, but at 37 years old as of the end of the season, it was clear that he would not be a long-term solution. United then solved the goalkeeping crisis by paying AS Monaco £7.8 million for Fabien Barthez. Also new to the squad for 1999–2000 were French defender Mikaël Silvestre and South African winger Quinton Fortune. Jesper Blomqvist and Wes Brown missed the entire season due to injury, while similar misfortune restricted defenders David May and Ronny Johnsen to three first-team appearances between them. Jordi Cruyff left the club on a free transfer to Deportivo Alavés at the end of the season, seeing out his four-year contract at a club where he had failed to claim a regular first-team place.

## Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 15 July 1999 | Australia | N | 2–0 | Blomqvist 45', Butt 74' | 71,215 |
| 18 July 1999 | Australia | N | 1–0 | Yorke 24' | 78,032 |
| 21 July 1999 | Shanghai Shenhua | A | 2–0 | Solskjær 60', Sheringham 69' | 80,000 |
| 24 July 1999 | South China | A | 2–0 | Sheringham 20', Cole 23' | 40,000 |
| 30 July 1999 | Bristol Rovers | A | 2–2 | Solskjær 7', Healy 87' | 10,534 |
| 3 August 1999 | Omagh Town | A | 9–0 | Clegg (2), Cole (2), Sheringham (4), Nixon (o.g.) | 7,000 |
| 4 August 1999 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–0 | Scholes, Solskjær | 15,000 |
| 11 October 1999 | Rest of the World XI | H | 2–4 | Sheringham 43', Scholes 87' | 54,842 |

## FA Charity Shield

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 1 August 1999 | Arsenal | N | 1–2 | Yorke 37' | 70,185 |

## UEFA Super Cup

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 27 August 1999 | Lazio | N | 0–1 | | 14,461 |

## FA Premier League

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 8 August 1999 | Everton | A | 1–1 | Yorke 7' | 39,141 | 9th |
| 11 August 1999 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 4–0 | Scholes 9', Yorke 35', Cole 54', Solskjær 84' | 54,941 | 3rd |
| 14 August 1999 | Leeds United | H | 2–0 | Yorke (2) 77', 80' | 55,187 | 1st |
| 22 August 1999 | Arsenal | A | 2–1 | Keane (2) 59', 88' | 38,147 | 1st |
| 25 August 1999 | Coventry City | A | 2–1 | Scholes 63', Yorke 75' | 22,024 | 1st |
| 30 August 1999 | Newcastle United | H | 5–1 | Cole (4) 14', 46', 65', 71', Giggs 81' | 55,190 | 1st |
| 11 September 1999 | Liverpool | A | 3–2 | Carragher (2) 4' (o.g.), 45' (o.g.), Cole 18' | 44,929 | 1st |
| 18 September 1999 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | Cruyff 74' | 55,189 | 1st |
| 25 September 1999 | Southampton | H | 3–3 | Sheringham 34', Yorke (2) 38', 64' | 55,249 | 1st |
| 3 October 1999 | Chelsea | A | 0–5 | | 34,909 | 2nd |
| 16 October 1999 | Watford | H | 4–1 | Yorke 40', Cole (2) 42', 50', Irwin 45' (pen.) | 55,188 | 2nd |
| 23 October 1999 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–3 | Giggs 24' | 36,072 | 3rd |
| 30 October 1999 | Aston Villa | H | 3–0 | Scholes 30', Cole 45', Keane 65' | 55,211 | 2nd |
| 6 November 1999 | Leicester City | H | 2–0 | Cole (2) 30', 83' | 55,191 | 1st |
| 20 November 1999 | Derby County | A | 2–1 | Butt 53', Cole 84' | 33,370 | 1st |
| 4 December 1999 | Everton | H | 5–1 | Irwin 27' (pen.), Solskjær (4) 29', 43', 52', 58' | 55,193 | 1st |
| 18 December 1999 | West Ham United | A | 4–2 | Yorke (2) 9', 63', Giggs (2) 13', 20' | 26,037 | 1st |
| 26 December 1999 | Bradford City | H | 4–0 | Fortune 75', Yorke 79', Cole 88', Keane 89' | 55,188 | 2nd |
| 28 December 1999 | Sunderland | A | 2–2 | Keane 27', Butt 87' | 42,026 | 2nd |
| 24 January 2000 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | Sheringham 74' | 58,293 | 2nd |
| 29 January 2000 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | Beckham 87' | 61,267 | 1st |
| 2 February 2000 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–0 | Sheringham 74' | 39,640 | 1st |
| 5 February 2000 | Coventry City | H | 3–2 | Cole (2) 40', 55', Scholes 77' | 61,380 | 1st |
| 12 February 2000 | Newcastle United | A | 0–3 | | 36,470 | 1st |
| 20 February 2000 | Leeds United | A | 1–0 | Cole 52' | 40,160 | 1st |
| 26 February 2000 | Wimbledon | A | 2–2 | Cruyff 30', Cole 80' | 26,129 | 1st |
| 4 March 2000 | Liverpool | H | 1–1 | Solskjær 45' | 61,592 | 1st |
| 11 March 2000 | Derby County | H | 3–1 | Yorke (3) 13', 70', 72' | 61,619 | 1st |
| 18 March 2000 | Leicester City | A | 2–0 | Beckham 33', Yorke 84' | 22,170 | 1st |
| 25 March 2000 | Bradford City | A | 4–0 | Yorke (2) 38', 40', Scholes 71', Beckham 79' | 18,276 | 1st |
| 1 April 2000 | West Ham United | H | 7–1 | Scholes (3) 24', 51', 63' (pen.), Irwin 27', Cole 45', Beckham 66', Solskjær 73' | 61,611 | 1st |
| 10 April 2000 | Middlesbrough | A | 4–3 | Giggs 46', Cole 60', Scholes 74', Fortune 88' | 34,775 | 1st |
| 15 April 2000 | Sunderland | H | 4–0 | Solskjær (2) 3', 51', Butt 65', Berg 70' | 61,612 | 1st |
| 22 April 2000 | Southampton | A | 3–1 | Beckham 8', Benali 15' (o.g.), Solskjær 30' | 15,245 | 1st |
| 24 April 2000 | Chelsea | H | 3–2 | Yorke (2) 11', 69', Solskjær 40' | 61,593 | 1st |
| 29 April 2000 | Watford | A | 3–2 | Yorke 69', Giggs 71', Cruyff 87' | 20,250 | 1st |
| 6 May 2000 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–1 | Solskjær 5', Beckham 34', Sheringham 36' | 61,629 | 1st |
| 14 May 2000 | Aston Villa | A | 1–0 | Sheringham 65' | 39,217 | 1st |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Manchester United (C) | 38 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 97 | 45 | +52 | 91 | Qualification for the Champions League first group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 73 | Qualification for the Champions League first group stage |
| 3 | Leeds United | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 58 | 43 | +15 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 51 | 30 | +21 | 67 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Chelsea | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
* ↑ Chelsea qualified for the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners.

## League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 13 October 1999 | Round 3 | Aston Villa | A | 0–3 | | 33,815 |

## UEFA Champions League
### Group stage

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
| 14 September 1999 | Croatia Zagreb | H | 0–0 | | 53,250 | 3rd |
| 22 September 1999 | Sturm Graz | A | 3–0 | Keane 16', Yorke 31', Cole 33' | 16,480 | 2nd |
| 29 September 1999 | Marseille | H | 2–1 | Cole 79', Scholes 83' | 53,993 | 1st |
| 19 October 1999 | Marseille | A | 0–1 | | 56,732 | 2nd |
| 27 October 1999 | Croatia Zagreb | A | 2–1 | Beckham 32', Keane 49' | 27,500 | 1st |
| 2 November 1999 | Sturm Graz | H | 2–1 | Solskjær 56', Keane 65' | 53,745 | 1st |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Manchester United | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 13 | Advance to second group stage |
| 2 | Marseille | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 10 | Advance to second group stage |
| 3 | Sturm Graz | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 6 | Transfer to UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Croatia Zagreb | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 | |

### Second group stage

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
| 23 November 1999 | Fiorentina | A | 0–2 | | 36,002 | 3rd |
| 8 December 1999 | Valencia | H | 3–0 | Keane 38', Solskjær 47', Scholes 70' | 54,606 | 2nd |
| 1 March 2000 | Bordeaux | H | 2–0 | Giggs 41', Sheringham 84' | 59,786 | 2nd |
| 7 March 2000 | Bordeaux | A | 2–1 | Keane 33', Solskjær 84' | 30,130 | 1st |
| 15 March 2000 | Fiorentina | H | 3–1 | Cole 20', Keane 33', Yorke 70' | 59,926 | 1st |
| 21 March 2000 | Valencia | A | 0–0 | | 40,419 | 1st |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Manchester United | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Valencia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Fiorentina | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 8 | |
| 4 | Bordeaux | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 2 | |

### Knockout phase

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 4 April 2000 | Quarter-final First leg | Real Madrid | A | 0–0 | | 64,119 |
| 19 April 2000 | Quarter-final Second leg | Real Madrid | H | 2–3 | Beckham 64', Scholes 88' (pen.) | 59,178 |

## Intercontinental Cup

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 30 November 1999 | Palmeiras | N | 1–0 | Keane 35' | 53,372 |

## FIFA Club World Championship
### Group stage

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
| 6 January 2000 | Necaxa | N | 1–1 | Yorke 88' | 50,000 | 2nd |
| 8 January 2000 | Vasco da Gama | N | 1–3 | Butt 81' | 73,000 | 3rd |
| 11 January 2000 | South Melbourne | N | 2–0 | Fortune (2) 8', 20' | 25,000 | 3rd |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VAS | NEC | MUN | SME |
| 1 | Vasco da Gama | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 9 | Advance to final | | — | — | 2–0 |
| 2 | Necaxa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | Advance to match for third place | 1–2 | | — | — |
| 3 | Manchester United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | | 1–3 | 1–1 | | 2–0 |
| 4 | South Melbourne | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 | | — | 1–3 | — | |

## Squad statistics

| No. | CWC no. | Pos. | Name | League | League | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe | Club World Championship | Club World Championship | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| No. | CWC no. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | 1 | GK | Mark Bosnich | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | DF | Gary Neville | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | DF | Denis Irwin | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 3 |
| 4 | – | DF | David May | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 |
| 5 | – | DF | Ronny Johnsen | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 |
| 6 | 6 | DF | Jaap Stam | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| 7 | 7 | MF | David Beckham | 30(1) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 1(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46(2) | 8 |
| 8 | 8 | MF | Nicky Butt | 21(11) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 29(13) | 4 |
| 9 | 9 | FW | Andy Cole | 23(5) | 19 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40(5) | 22 |
| 10 | 10 | FW | Teddy Sheringham | 15(12) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3(6) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 19(22) | 6 |
| 11 | 11 | MF | Ryan Giggs | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 7 |
| 12 | 12 | DF | Phil Neville | 25(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6(3) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35(8) | 0 |
| 13 | – | DF | John Curtis | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 |
| 14 | 14 | MF | Jordi Cruyff | 1(7) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1(3) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 5(12) | 3 |
| 15 | – | MF | Jesper Blomqvist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 16 | MF | Roy Keane (c) | 28(1) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 44(1) | 12 |
| 17 | 17 | GK | Raimond van der Gouw | 11(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20(3) | 0 |
| 18 | – | MF | Paul Scholes | 27(4) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41(4) | 12 |
| 19 | 19 | FW | Dwight Yorke | 29(3) | 20 | 0 | 0 | 9(2) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1(1) | 1 | 41(6) | 24 |
| 20 | 20 | FW | Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 15(13) | 12 | 1 | 0 | 4(7) | 3 | 2(1) | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 24(22) | 15 |
| 21 | 21 | DF | Henning Berg | 16(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30(7) | 0 |
| 23 | – | DF | Michael Clegg | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(3) | 0 |
| 24 | – | DF | Wes Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | 22 | MF | Quinton Fortune | 4(2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1(3) | 0 | 1(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6(6) | 4 |
| 26 | – | GK | Massimo Taibi | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 27 | 5 | DF | Mikaël Silvestre | 30(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35(3) | 0 |
| 28 | 4 | DF | Danny Higginbotham | 2(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 0 |
| 30 | 23 | DF | Ronnie Wallwork | 0(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(5) | 0 |
| 31 | – | GK | Nick Culkin | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 33 | 18 | MF | Mark Wilson | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(3) | 0 |
| 34 | 15 | MF | Jonathan Greening | 1(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 4(5) | 0 |
| 37 | – | DF | John O'Shea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 38 | – | FW | David Healy | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 39 | – | MF | Luke Chadwick | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 41 | – | MF | Richard Wellens | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 42 | – | MF | Michael Twiss | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| – | 13 | GK | Paul Rachubka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
* ↑ Clubs had to submit a 23-man squad to compete in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, who all had to be numbered between 1 and 23. Some players had to be assigned a different squad number specifically for the competition.
* ↑ Rachubka was not assigned a number for the rest of the season.

## Transfers

No players left Manchester United in the 1999 summer transfer window.
On 21 August, South African midfielder Quinton Fortune signed from Atlético Madrid for a fee of £1.5 million. Also arriving were Italian goalkeeper Massimo Taibi and French defender Mikaël Silvestre. All three players had slightly different careers at United and all stayed at United for a different number of seasons: Fortune spent seven years at Old Trafford, and his career was mixed; Taibi turned out to be a major flop and left after just one season; Silvestre left in 2008 and had a successful career with United.
United's only winter departure was Norwegian striker Erik Nevland, who returned to his former club Viking after two seasons. Richard Wellens departed on 23 March to Blackpool for a nominal fee. John Curtis joined Blackburn Rovers on 31 May for a fee of £1.5 million, while Michael Twiss joined Port Vale on 30 June on a free transfer.
No players joined United in the winter transfer window, but on 21 May, French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was acquired.

### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 2 June 1999 | GK | Mark Bosnich | Aston Villa | Free |
| 21 August 1999 | MF | Quinton Fortune | Atlético Madrid | £1.5m |
| 31 August 1999 | GK | Massimo Taibi | Venezia | £4.5m |
| 10 September 1999 | DF | Mikaël Silvestre | Internazionale | £4m |
| 21 May 2000 | GK | Fabien Barthez | AS Monaco | £7.8m |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 20 December 1999 | FW | Erik Nevland | Viking | £250k |
| 23 March 2000 | MF | Richard Wellens | Blackpool | Nominal |
| 31 May 2000 | DF | John Curtis | Blackburn Rovers | £1.5m |
| 25 July 2000 | MF | Michael Twiss | Port Vale | Free |