• Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken of plans to turn Old Trafford into a national stadium
  • The billionaire said his ‘preference’ is to use taxpayers money for the project
  • While Pep Guardiola is at Manchester City, it’s going to be difficult for anybody to knock them off their perch – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly facing rejection from the Government as the Manchester United co-owner seeks public funding for the redevelopment of Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe officially became a co-owner on Tuesday after INEOS’ 27.7 per cent investment in Manchester United was confirmed by the club, with the British billionaire taking over football operations as part of the deal.

Earlier this month, Mail Sport revealed Ratcliffe’s £2billion plan to turn Old Trafford into a ‘Wembley of the North’, with the aim of producing an iconic venue to rival England’s national stadium in London and its 90,000-capacity.

Refurbishing the existing 74,000-seater stadium, which opened in 1910, would likely prove to be a short-term measure and would cost in the region of £800million. Meanwhile, a new-build may be anywhere between £1bn and £2bn.

Ratcliffe confirmed plans to deliver a ‘national stadium in the north of England’ this week, adding that his ‘preference’ is to use taxpayers money to fund the project.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly facing defeat in his bid to secure public funding for Old Trafford

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly facing defeat in his bid to secure public funding for Old Trafford

Ratcliffe has confirmed plans to deliver a 'national stadium in the north of England'

Ratcliffe has confirmed plans to deliver a ‘national stadium in the north of England’ 

‘If it can be achieved (with taxpayers’ money), it would clearly be my preference,’ Ratcliffe told the BBC. 

‘I would be very excited for the north of England. Trafford Park is where the industrial revolution began. If you look at that region of Manchester today – only a mile from the centre – it is tired and neglected and parts are quite run down.

‘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.

Ratcliffe is reportedly already facing defeat in his bid to secure public funding for a stadium development.

As per The Times, a government source has said public investment would only be considered for regeneration projects in the area, but not the stadium.

Tracey Crouch, the former sports minister who wrote review on football governance in 2021, highlighted how the Glazer family had ‘underinvested’ in Old Trafford while taking money out of the club.

Ratcliffe has admitted that Old Trafford has become 'tired and in need of refurbishment'

Ratcliffe has admitted that Old Trafford has become ‘tired and in need of refurbishment’

Old Trafford currently has a capacity of 74,310 but United have long wanted to increase that

Old Trafford currently has a capacity of 74,310 but United have long wanted to increase that

Public investment would also prove controversial with Everton having taken out significant loans to fund the construction of their £550m stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

In a separate interview, Ratcliffe told the club website: ‘I mean, it’s an impressive stadium and it’s the largest Premier League stadium in the country – the second-largest stadium in the country to Wembley, I suppose.

‘But it’s not quite of the standard you would expect of Manchester United today and it’s fallen behind. Maybe 20 years ago, it was [at the standard], but today, it’s fallen behind.

‘We do need to look at the way forward for for the the stadium, the redevelopment of that stadium, and that there are clearly two roads we could take: we could refurbish the existing stadium or we could look at building a new stadium. And that’s what we’re looking at, at the moment.’

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Post source: Daily mail

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