WE RAIN SUPREME!

STORMS AND THUNDER WERE NEVER GOING TO STOP THOUSANDS OF CITY FANS WELCOMING HOME THEIR BLUE HEROES

-  SOPHIE HALLE-RICHARDS, STEPHEN TOPPING and JAMES HOLT

ON the brink of tears, a lifelong City fan sums up what it all means. “I got back at 4am from Istanbul and haven’t stopped crying. It’s history – nobody can take this from us.”

And not even a huge thunderstorm could take this momentous occasion away from the thousands of devoted fans who braved the weather to line the streets of the city centre – as the Treble-winning squad were paraded along Deansgate in an open-top bus.

As the rain lashed down, and fans’ soaking blue shirts clung to their bodies, n o b o d y seemed the slightest bit bothered. As the sound of rain got louder, so did their cheers.

Even as the thunder rumbled on, and lightning bolts were spotted across the Manchester skyline – it only appeared to add to the atmosphere.

A shirtless Erling Haaland defied the storm, whilst Pep Guardiola was captured enjoying a soggy cigar as the team weaved their way through a sea of blue along Deansgate.

Clutching all three trophies tightly, the squad waved to adoring fans who watched eagerly below – waving banners, letting off blue flares and chanting their favourite songs. Before the heavens opened, lifelong fans of the club spoke of what the Treble-win meant to them and their families, many of whom remember the ‘dark days’ before all the victories.

Dylan Morgan, 23, a lifelong Blues fan from Crumpsall, only arrived home from Istanbul in the early hours of yesterday morning, after travelling to watch the Champions League final.

“I remember 2008 I was eight years of age and United had just won the Champions League final,” he recalled. “I was one of just four City fans at school that day.