- Ratcliffe’s plan to rebuild Old Trafford into state-of-the-art venue has emerged
- United manager Erik Ten Hag said plans ‘express the ambition of the club’
- CHRIS SUTTON: Erik ten Hag is still on trial. He needs more than gradual improvement this season to keep his job – It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Erik ten Hag says that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plans to turn Old Trafford into the Wembley of the North shows his ambition for the club.
Ratcliffe wants to resolve the future of the stadium once his £1.3billion investment is ratified this month having pledged an addition £245million to improve Old Trafford and the Carrington training base.
The options on the table include redeveloping Old Trafford, knocking down the stadium and building on land next door, or relocating to another site in Manchester.
Ratcliffe is understood to be in favour of building a new stadium and could explore the possibility of using public money to fund the project which would include an entertainment complex.
Any of the options could take years to come to fruition, but Ten Hag said that it demonstrates once again the exciting plans Ratcliffe has for United after purchasing a 25 per cent stake in the club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to transform Manchester United’s Old Trafford home into the ‘Wembley of the North’ in a complete rebuild of the stadium which could cost upwards of £2billion
Wembley, in north London, has a capacity of 90,000 and holds many major football matches
INEOS billionaire Ratcliffe has committed £237m to infrastructure improvements initially
Ten Hag pictured shaking hands with Ratcliffe, who paid £1.3billion for a 25 per cent stake
‘So if that is his view then I would say it expresses the ambition of this club, which is good,’ said Ten Hag.
‘But it is not my task in this club to deal with stadium questions, with facilities. My job is to manage the team and rebuild the squad.’
Ten Hag has more pressing matters as he tries to build on a run of four wins in five game at Aston Villa on Sunday.
It’s a crucial game for United as they look to close an eight-point gap on Unai Emery’s side in the race for Champions League qualification.
‘I said to the team from the start of January that every game is now a final,’ said Ten Hag.
‘That was also our approach to West Ham, this is a final. We have to take this challenge and see it as a final. That will be every day now from on.’
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