Manchester United have been trying to compete with Manchester City on and off the pitch for years, but time and again they have failed to come close. 

Some of that can be explained by the guilty verdict, which revealed City had breached 114 charges and inflated revenues between 2009 and 2018. 

However, there have still been times when United and City have gone head-to-head at the top of the Premier League. 

In 2020/21, Ole Gunnar Solskjær's United side finished runner-up to City, 12 points behind Pep Guardiola's team. Jose Mourinho also finished second to City in 2017/18. 

United have lost league titles, Champions League qualification, prize money, and more to Manchester City, and BBC Sport has now revealed how much City's financial breaches have cost the Red Devils. 

According to BBC Sport, Manchester United were cost just over £18 million due to Manchester City's financial breaches between 2009 and 2018. 

The report points to the fact that the one year United missed out on Champions League football as a direct result of City's breaches, they won the Europa League the season after and recouped some of the financial loss. 

Tottenham Hotspur were reportedly cost £119 million as a result of City's guilty charges, making United's fortunes look rather good. 

However, the BBC report does not factor in the final-day title loss in 2011 at the hands of Sergio Aguero, who scored a late winner against Queens Park Rangers, which has also been noted by fans as suspicious due to the manner of QPR's defence, to give Manchester City their first Premier League title. 

But even including that, Manchester United should not have fallen as far as they have. 

Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, Manchester United have continued to fall, with no sign of a route back to the top. 

Several managers have tried and failed under the Glazer ownership, who will no doubt use Manchester City's financial charges as an excuse for the success at Old Trafford in recent years. 

But it cannot be used as an excuse. 

Yes, it will have had an impact, but Manchester United are the biggest club in English football for a reason. 

The money they legitimately bring in cannot be matched by any other team in the Premier League, nor can the sheer number of fans around the world. 

But if that is to continue for the rest of the 2020s and into the 2030s, United must restore themselves to at least an ounce of their former glory. As sad as it is to say, finishing in the top four for two seasons in a row would be the closest United have come in some time. 

Whether it's the players on the pitch, the people in the boardroom, or just a bad feeling, something needs to change at Old Trafford. 

And it needs to change now.