Ineos CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe heeds advice from Gary Neville as Manchester United devises Old Trafford renovations
The claim has been made that Ratcliffe believes United fans wouldn’t oppose the idea of demolishing Old Trafford and constructing a new world-class stadium at the current location. According to the Daily Telegraph, Ineos’ chief has devised ambitious plans to create a ‘Wembley of the north’ for United in the near future.
Ratcliffe has been active in other areas since acquiring a minority stake in the Red Devils, such as bringing in Omar Berrada from Manchester City as the club’s new CEO and advancing plans to appoint a new director of football. It appears Ratcliffe may have heeded the advice of Neville, who previously encouraged him to prioritize improvements in the boardroom before tackling the stadium issue.
“To me, it is really important, ultimately, that they get that right.” “Then you can start to think about the stadium, training facilities and all the other things.
I have to think once you have got those people and place, you know, management and the plan around the stadium sorted, I do think the football side starts to take care of itself because the foundations are good and the principles are good.” United has been heavily speculated to either revamp Old Trafford or construct an entirely new stadium in the future, as the current arena is in urgent need of modernization.
The roof of the Main Stand leaks during rain, and the stadium has been omitted from the list of venues for Euro 2028, which will be co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Ireland. Tottenham has also reaped the benefits of replacing White Hart Lane with a new modern home, enabling them to surpass the likes of Chelsea in terms of revenue over the past few years.
It remains to be seen whether Ratcliffe’s impressive plans for a new United stadium will materialize, with the 71-year-old reportedly allocating £250m for upgrading or replacing Old Trafford. The funds will also be used to modernize the club’s training ground at Carrington, their base since 2000.
