Manchester United have unveiled plans to build a new 100,000-seat stadium next to the existing Old Trafford, aiming to provide their loyal fans modern facilities that would rival the big clubs across Europe.
"Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world's greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford," United's co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said in a statement.
"United is the world's favourite football club and the biggest in my opinion and it deserves a stadium befitting of its stature.
"It's more challenging to build a stadium of 100,000 but I think the UK needs a stadium of that kind of presence and the north of England I think is the best place to build it."
Manchester United said it plans to build the new stadium next to its existing Old Trafford site. The historic venue has the league’s highest capacity at over 74,000, but its leaky roof and other deteriorating facilities have aged badly compared to Premier League clubs including crosstown rivals Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in London.
Ratcliffe had been open about his desire for a new, state-of-the art facility since he became a minority owner in February of last year, and the club had been studying whether to redevelop the existing stadium or build a new one.
As things stand, United are unlikely to face any need to relocate during the construction process.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport,” Ratcliffe added. “By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.”
United did not reveal how much the stadium would cost or reveal a timeline for its completion, but architect Norman Foster said building work would take five years. The BBC reported that the venue will cost around £2 billion.
British billionaire Ratcliffe paid $1.3 billion for an initial 25% stake in United last year and made a new stadium one of his priorities.
The possibility of redeveloping Old Trafford was considered but an entirely new construction emerged as a better option.
Wembley is currently the biggest stadium in the UK with a capacity of 90,000. Twickenham, which is home to the national rugby team, holds 82,500.
The move to a new ground has been backed by former United boss Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles during his reign of more than 26 years.
"Manchester United should always strive for the best in everything it does, on and off the pitch, and that includes the stadium we play in," Ferguson said.
"Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally, but we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made."
Sebastian Coe, who chaired the Old Trafford regeneration task force, said Tuesday "marks an important step forward in what I firmly believe can be the biggest and most exciting urban regeneration project in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics".
United hope the stadium can be built in five years, with sections to be constructed off site and transported along the Manchester Ship Canal.
Regarding the financing of the project, chief executive Omar Berrada added: "It's a very attractive investment opportunity so we're quite confident we'll find a way to finance the stadium."
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Rumman Raees.
