Many of Ferguson's signings did not reach the expectations of the fans, and the manager was reportedly on the verge of being sacked at the beginning of 1990, with many believing that defeat to Nottingham Forest F.C. in the FA Cup Third Round would seal his fate. A 56th-minute goal from Mark Robins won the match for United and started them on a cup run that would take them all the way to the final at Wembley, where they beat Crystal Palace F.C. 1–0 in a replay after a 3–3 draw in the original match. The following year, United reached the final of the Football League Cup 1990–91, but lost 1–0 to former
manager Ron Atkinson's Sheffield Wednesday F.C. team. However, the season was capped by Manchester United's first UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1990–91 title, beating FC Barcelona 2–1 in the final in Rotterdam. The Cup Winners' Cup triumph allowed
Manchester United to play in the 1991 UEFA Super Cup, in which they beat European Cup 1990–91 holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. The match should have been played over two legs, but, due to political unrest in Yugoslavia at the time, UEFA decided that only the Old Trafford leg would be played. A second consecutive League Cup final appearance followed in 1992, with United this time beating Nottingham Forest 1–0 at Wembley.
Meanwhile, events were taking place off the pitch around the turn of the decade, as chairman Martin Edwards attempted to offload Manchester United to property tycoon Michael Knighton in 1989. The £20 million deal was all but confirmed, with Knighton even taking to the Old Trafford pitch in full
Manchester United kit and performing a few keepie uppies before belting the ball into the goal at the Stretford End. Knighton was given access to Manchester United's financial records, but, before the deal could be finalised, his financial backers pulled out and the deal was cancelled. However, since Knighton now had insider knowledge of the club, he was given a place on Manchester United's board in exchange for his silence about the matter. In 1991, requiring some extra financial support in the wake of the Taylor Report, Manchester United floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £47 million, bringing its finances into the public eye. Martin Edwards retained his position as chairman, but
Manchester United was now publicly owned.
The summer of 1991 also saw the arrival of Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, whose 17 league clean sheets gave United the best defensive record in the First Division in 1991–92, helping them to a second-place finish behind Leeds United A.F.C., within whose ranks was a certain French maverick named Eric Cantona.
Alex Ferguson recognised United's need for a striker as a foil for Mark Hughes and Brian McClair, and had tried – and failed – a number of times to sign Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst (footballer), but when Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson rang Martin Edwards in November 1992 to enquire about the availability of Denis Irwin, the conversation quickly turned to Cantona. To Edwards' and Ferguson's surprise, the two clubs were able to agree upon a fee of £1.2 million for the enigmatic Frenchman. Cantona's arrival provided the crucial spark for United, helping
Manchester United to their first league title since 1967. After the signing of Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest in July 1993, United won a second consecutive title for the first time since 1957 the following year, before winning the FA Cup to complete the first "The Double" in Manchester United's history. That same year, however, Manchester United went into mourning following the death of former manager and club director Matt Busby, who died on 20 January 1994.
The 1994–95 in English football season was to be Manchester United's first trophyless season since 1988–89, although they managed to take the title race down to the final week of the season and reached the final of the FA Cup, where they lost to Everton F.C.. Andrew Cole was signed from Newcastle United F.C. for a Progression of British football transfer fee record of £6 million plus Keith Gillespie. However, the game after Cole's United debut, Eric Cantona received an eight month suspension for jumping into the crowd and assaulting Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, who had given Cantona racial abuse as he left the field, in United's game at Selhurst Park. Cantona's suspension has been cited by some as the reason why United were unable to complete a hat-trick of league titles that season. The season's relative failure prompted Ferguson into some major restructuring of the team, selling Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes and replacing them with players from Manchester United's Youth system, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. After Manchester United's 3–1 defeat to Aston Villa F.C. on the opening day of the 1995–96 season, television pundit Alan Hansen famously declared "you'll never win anything with kids." The new players, several of whom quickly became regular internationals for England national football team, responded well and, buoyed by Cantona's return in October 1995, United became the first English club to have won the double twice, a feat that would be nicknamed the "Double Double".
Captain Steve Bruce left for Birmingham City F.C. in July 1996, and Alex Ferguson named Eric Cantona as the new club captain. He led Manchester United to a fourth league title in five years in 1996–97 in English football, before retiring from football at the age of 30 at the end of the season. Teddy Sheringham was brought in to replace him, and his iconic number 7 shirt was handed to David Beckham. They started the 1997–98 in English football season well, but they lost five matches after Christmas and finished in second place, one point behind double-winners Arsenal F.C.. After a period without a regular challenger for the league title, this marked Arsenal's arrival as genuine title contenders for the next few years.
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