Goodbye Old Trafford? This is the project for Manchester United's new stadium

Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealed details of what he plans to do in the near future.

22/02/2024, 01:33 PM +00:00

The purchase of Manchester United's 27.7 per cent stake by Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently became official. He is now in charge of football-related decisions and his goal is to make the club once again the number one in England and one of the favorites to win the Champions League every season. For that to happen, it will obviously require a renewal of the squad, with the departure of players who have not lived up to expectations and the arrival of others who can make a difference.

But that alone will not be enough and the new owner knows it. One of the main concerns of the CEO of INEOS chemicals group is the club's facilities. He believes that both the Carrington training ground and Old Trafford need upgrading as soon as possible to bring them up to the standards of one of the world's top clubs.

This week Ratcliffe gave his first interview as Manchester United owner and spoke about the stadium. He opined that Old Trafford is "tired" and needs "refurbishment". However, his ideal solution is not that, but to build a completely new stadium in the vicinity of the current one, to be enjoyed obviously by the Red Devils but also by the whole of England.

"It's about time someone built a national stadium in the north of England. If it can be achieved, it would clearly be my preference," he began. He added: "There is a bias in the UK in terms of where national stadiums have been built, they are all in the south. Why shouldn't there be a venue in the north of England for England to play at? Why does everyone in the north have to go to the south for the semi-finals of the FA Cup?".

He has big goals

Should his dream of building a new stadium for Manchester United come true, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is sure it will also be great news for millions of fans in the north of England, who will be able to enjoy top-level matches there: "There is quite a big argument, in my view, for regenerating that whole south side of Manchester. The nucleus of it would be building a new world-class state-of-the-art stadium which could take England games, the FA Cup final, Champions League finals. It could serve the north of England".