On Christmas Eve, it was confirmed that British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe had agreed a deal to buy 25% of Manchester United from the Glazer family for just over £1bn. It was expected to take a further six to weight weeks from that date for the deal to be officially ratified.
As part of the arrangement, Ratcliffe and INEOS will take control of the sporting operation at the club, and they were also expected to provide £236m worth of investment into the Old Trafford stadium.
However, it was claimed on Tuesday that the 71-year-old was actually considering building an entirely new site, and had already spoken to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham about the idea. Ratcliffe, who’s keen to leave a long-term legacy at the club he supports, may pursue government funding to help bankroll the project if he goes through with it.
All options on the table as Ratcliffe addresses Old Trafford issue
Now, Sky Sports have shared their “understanding” of the situation, clarifying that all options are still “on the table”, including a redevelopment of the current facility, and that no decision has been made just yet.
Their on-air update went as follows: “Even though we’re still waiting for Jim Ratcliffe’s investment into the club to be ratified by the Premier League, it seems he’s wasting no time on making an impact.
“Reports overnight claim that Sir Jim is looking at the possibility of building a new stadium that will be billed as the Wembley of the North. However, it’s our understanding that all options are still on the table regarding the infrastructure at Old Trafford with no decisions made so far.”
Ratcliffe must respond to “shameful” blow
Ratcliffe’s priority, of course, will be sorting out Man Utd’s fortunes on the pitch, where they’re currently in the midst of a miserable season. With 15 Premier League games to go, Erik ten Hag’s side are currently in sixth place, eight points off the Champions League qualification spots. They’ve already exited Europe, and they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle in the round of 16.
However, the stadium is undoubtedly an important part of the club’s prestige, and last year, United suffered the ignominy of being left off the list of Euro 2028 venues. Local rivals Manchester City made the cut for the tournament, which will be held in the UK and Ireland, because their stadium is seen as a more modern option.
|
Euro 2028 locations |
Club |
Capacity |
|---|---|---|
|
Wembley |
N/A |
90,000 |
|
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium |
Spurs |
62,850 |
|
Etihad Stadium |
Manchester City |
53,400 |
|
Villa Park |
Aston Villa |
42,640 |
|
St James’ Park |
Newcastle |
52,000 |
|
Bramley Moore Dock |
Everton |
53,000* |
|
Hampden Park |
N/A |
52,000 |
|
Principality Stadium |
N/A |
74,500 |
|
Aviva Stadium |
N/A |
51,700 |
|
Casement Park |
N/A |
34,000* |
Former Man Utd player and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was left furious by the ground’s omission, and launched a stinging rebuke of the Glazers: “The Glazer family have, for years, been warned about a lack of investment in Old Trafford.
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“They have overseen a decline for 20 years in which it has gone from being one of the best stadiums in the world to one that can’t even get into the top 10 in the UK and Ireland. This is an all-time low. That it is not in the best ten to host a tournament is a joke. There has been no investment. It is a rusty stadium. This is a dereliction of duty. It is shameful.”
One of Ratcliffe’s biggest tasks, then, will be to recover from this “all-time low”, and make United’s home stadium a state-of-the-art base that draws the envy of much of Europe once again.