LONDON: Manchester United on Tuesday announced plans to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium close to their historic Old Trafford home, which co-owner Jim Ratcliffe promised would be the “world’s greatest” football ground.
The momentous decision by the Premier League club comes after an extensive consultation process on whether to develop their creaking current ground or move.
The stadium, which will be built on land surrounding Old Trafford, will cost around £2 billion ($2.6 billion) and the project timescale is five years.
United, 20-time English league champions, are one of the world’s most iconic football clubs but have fallen behind rivals such as Manchester City and Liverpool over the past decade.
They are having a dismal season under current manager Ruben Amorim, languishing 14th in the Premier League table and knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.
Ratcliffe himself this week told the BBC some of the club’s players are “not good enough” and some are “overpaid.”
Scaled models and conceptual images for United’s new stadium were revealed on Tuesday at the London headquarters of architects Foster + Partners, appointed in September to design the stadium district.
“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the center of a regenerated Old Trafford,” Ratcliffe said in a club statement.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.”
United said the stadium and a wider regeneration project had the potential to deliver an additional £7.3 billion per year to the UK economy, including the possible creation of 92,000 new jobs.
Old Trafford, which has been the club’s home since 1910, will be demolished once construction is completed.
A joint task force was created last year to explore options for regenerating the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester, with the stadium development at his heart.
It was led by Sebastian Coe, chairman of the organizing committee for the 2012 London Olympics, and also included the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
British billionaire Ratcliffe, born in Greater Manchester, said in London on Tuesday that United, as the “world’s favorite football club and the biggest in my opinion,” deserved a stadium befitting its stature.
Old Trafford is England’s biggest club ground with a capacity of around 74,000 but criticism of the stadium has grown in recent years, with issues including leaks from the roof.
The proposed new stadium will rank as Europe’s second biggest, behind only Barcelona’s Camp Nou, which will accommodate 105,000 fans once an upgrade is completed.
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 nearly 27 years that ended in 2013.
“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,” he said.
United, whose struggles on the pitch are matched by problems off it, are around £1 billion in debt and have yet to say how they will pay for the new stadium.
But chief executive Omar Berrada said he was confident the club would find a way to finance the stadium as it was a “very attractive investment opportunity.”
Foster + Partners designed the new Wembley stadium and the Lusail stadium, the venue for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar.
Norman Foster, founder of Foster + Partners, said United’s new stadium would feature an umbrella design sheltering a public plaza that is “twice the size of Trafalgar Square” in London.
The design will feature three masts described as “Trident,” which the architects say will be 200 meters high and visible from 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust said it was vital that fans were consulted throughout the process.
The group said in a statement: “Will it drive up ticket prices and force out local fans? Will it harm the atmosphere, which is consistently fans’ top priority in the ground?
“Will it add to the debt burden which has held back the club for the last two decades? Will it lead to reduced investment in the playing side at a time when it is so badly needed?“
Manchester United to leave Old Trafford for 100,000-seat stadium
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Manchester United to leave Old Trafford for 100,000-seat stadium
- The stadium, which will be built on land surrounding Old Trafford, $2.6 billion and the project timescale is five years
- “Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium,” Ratcliffe said
F1 title fight is increasingly focused on McLaren but Verstappen still hopeful
- Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have all had their moments but none has been a consistent challenger, as McLaren’s 58-point constructors’ championship lead shows
- Jeddah hosts the fifth race in six weeks in a hectic start to the season, which stays at a record 24 races
JEDDAH: Ahead of Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, this Formula 1 season is looking like McLaren vs. McLaren. Still, defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull says he hasn’t lost hope.
McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the only ones to consistently have the pace through the first four rounds of the championship.
Norris has a three-point lead but admits he isn’t at his best — though he had the fastest time of the day in practice on Friday — while Piastri has momentum after winning in Bahrain last week.
Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have all had their moments but none has been a consistent challenger, as McLaren’s 58-point constructors’ championship lead shows.
Friday practice
Norris went fastest in the second practice session, while Yuki Tsunoda crashed to continue his difficult start with Red Bull.
Norris was .163 seconds faster than Piastri in the second session, which was run under floodlights and more representative of race conditions than the hotter daytime session. Verstappen complained earlier in the day of his car feeling “very loose” in high-speed corners but ended Friday third fastest, .280 off Norris.
In his third race weekend with Red Bull since replacing Liam Lawson, Tsunoda clipped the wall on the inside of a corner and slid into the barrier on the other side, requiring a red flag.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the surprise leader in the first session, just .007 of a second faster than Norris. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was .07 off Gasly in third and Piastri fourth, barely a tenth of a second off the pace. Lewis Hamilton was eighth in the other Ferrari. Verstappen was ninth.
Verstappen’s hope
Verstappen is the only non-McLaren driver to win a grand prix this season, but in Bahrain he was struggling so much that Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said he was concerned the Dutch star might reconsider his future.
Verstappen said this week he wasn’t considering the championship picture this early in the season.
“I’m not thinking about that. I just go race by race,” he said. “At the moment we are not the quickest. So then naturally it’s very tough to fight for a championship, but it’s still a very long road ... I’m hopeful that we can still improve things.”
Two-time champion Fernando Alonso dampened speculation Verstappen could seek to join his Aston Martin team after Red Bull car designer Adrian Newey made that move last year.
Asked if he’d welcome being Verstappen’s teammate, Alonso said Thursday: “Yes, but it’s unlikely to happen. Very unlikely.”
Alonso’s current teammate is Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll.
Busy schedule
Jeddah hosts the fifth race in six weeks in a hectic start to the season, which stays at a record 24 races. There’s a little respite after Saudi Arabia, with two weeks till the next event in Miami.
“It’s on the upper end of the limit. It feels like race 10 already,” said Williams driver Alex Albon, adding it’s especially tough on mechanics and other crew members.
“As drivers, we travel better than everyone else in the paddock. We stay in better hotels than everyone else in the paddock — it’s just a function of being in a privileged position. With mechanics ... these are people with families. These are the people that really struggle.”
The rookies are still enjoying their first taste of F1, though.
“It’s just the beginning of my career, so I just want to keep racing and keep driving,” Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto said. “I’m learning new things every single weekend, so for me, if I could have another race next weekend, I would be very happy as well.”
Treble-chasing Inter sweat over Thuram’s fitness
- The Frenchman, Inter’s top scorer in Serie A with 14 goals, is likely to miss Sunday’s Serie A match
- “The tests revealed fatigue in the adductor muscles of his left thigh,” Inter said
MILANO: Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram has a thigh injury, the Serie A leaders said on Friday as they wait to see if he can recover in time for their Coppa Italia semifinal against AC Milan next week.
The Frenchman, Inter’s top scorer in Serie A with 14 goals, is likely to miss Sunday’s Serie A match at fifth-placed Bologna, Italian media reported as the club confirmed Thuram underwent medical tests this morning.
“The tests revealed fatigue in the adductor muscles of his left thigh. His condition will be assessed day by day,” Inter said in a statement.
Champions Inter lead the Italian top-flight standings on 71 points after 32 games, three ahead of Napoli.
They host Milan in the second leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday, after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.
Inter, one of eight teams who have won a league, cup and European Cup treble, could repeat the feat this season.
They face Barcelona, another treble-winning side, in the Champions League semifinals after advancing to the last four of Europe’s elite club competition with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich.
Thuram, who has started 26 league games and missed only one this season, recently dropped out of the France squad due to an ankle injury.
Klopp ‘happy’ in new job despite Real Madrid rumors: agent
- Agent Marc Kosicke said 57-year-old Klopp was enjoying his new job
- RB Leipzig coach Zsolt Low said he “could not imagine” Klopp moving to Real Madrid
BERLIN: Jurgen Klopp is “very happy” in his current post at Red Bull despite rumors linking him to a return to management with Real Madrid, his agent said Friday.
The former Liverpool manager became Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer in January, taking care of a stable of clubs including RB Leipzig, the New York Red Bulls and Bragantino in Brazil.
Real Madrid’s quarter-final elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Arsenal this week has led to speculation manager Carlo Ancelotti is headed for the exit at the end of the season.
German media reported that Klopp was one of the names that the Spanish giants want to take over in the Bernabeu dugout.
Asked about the rumors, his agent Marc Kosicke said 57-year-old Klopp was enjoying his new job.
“Jurgen is very happy with his new role with Red Bull,” Kosicke told Sky Deutschland.
Also speaking on Friday, RB Leipzig coach Zsolt Low said he “could not imagine” Klopp moving to Real Madrid, adding the German was “very happy in the job.”
Low praised Klopp’s impact, saying “he’s shown that he can bring a club together, a group of 40, 50, 60 people, and take them with him.
“He adds incredible value with his experience, his human quality and his energy.”
In a 23-year career as a top-flight manager with Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Mainz, Klopp left each club of his own accord, a rarity in coaching.
“No matter where he’s been, he’s given 100 percent,” Low said, adding “regardless of where he is he’s stayed and done the job. It’s important to him to make a clean exit.”
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso is considered a leading candidate for the Real Madrid job. Alonso, a former Madrid player, said Friday it was “not the time” to discuss his future.
Morocco ex-football club chair denies seizing villa in drug case
- Said Naciri is being tried alongside the head of a regional council in eastern Morocco, Abdennabi Bioui, in a vast drug trafficking case
- Naciri denied the allegation in court on Friday, saying he legally purchased the villa
CASABLANCA: The former president of Morocco’s most successful football club maintained in court Friday that he legally acquired a villa he is accused of seizing from a convicted Malian drug trafficker dubbed the “Escobar of the Sahara.”
Said Naciri, who was chairman of Casablanca club Wydad AC and president of the city’s prefectural council, is being tried alongside the head of a regional council in eastern Morocco, Abdennabi Bioui, in a vast drug trafficking case related to the jailed kingpin.
Both defendants — former officials of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), a member of the country’s ruling coalition — have been in custody since the end of 2023, and face charges of “possession, marketing, and export of drugs,” as well as corruption and related offenses.
Naciri was accused by the Malian trafficker, Ahmed Ben Brahim, of having wrongfully dispossessed him of a villa in an upscale Casablanca neighborhood, one of Naciri’s lawyers told AFP.
But Naciri denied the allegation in court on Friday, saying he legally purchased the villa though a real estate company in 2017 before finalizing the acquisition in 2019.
“I am taking advantage of my hearing before the court to refute the false allegations being made,” he told the court, presenting documents and testimony that he said supported his version of events.
The trial is the first in Morocco to see prominent political figures accused in a drug trafficking case.
It opened last May, and involves 25 people alleged to have played roles in the trafficking network of Ben Brahim, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Ben Brahim, whose complaint initiated the proceedings against Naciri and Bioui, accuses the pair of helping him smuggle drugs to elsewhere in North Africa and the Sahel.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 25.
CAF fines its president’s club $100,000 after African Champions League fan disorder
- Motsepe has been president of African soccer’s governing body CAF for four years and was re-elected unopposed last month
- Esperance was fined $150,000 for the fan misconduct
CAIRO: CAF fined its president’s club $100,000 after violent fan clashes at an African Champions League game between two teams that are going to the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Mamelodi Sundowns, owned by Patrice Motsepe — a South African mining billionaire and FIFA vice president – breached safety and security rules hosting an April 1 game against Esperance of Tunisia, the Confederation of African Football said in a disciplinary ruling late Thursday.
Motsepe has been president of African soccer’s governing body CAF for four years and was re-elected unopposed last month.
The African soccer body said Sundowns “is required to strictly implement the safety and security measures specified in the CAF regulations, guidelines and directives, particularly in their upcoming matches.”
Esperance was fined $150,000 for the fan misconduct, CAF said, related to clashes in the stands at the quarterfinal, first leg game.
Sundowns won the first leg 1-0 in Pretoria and advanced to the semifinals after the return game ended 0-0 in Tunis one week later. The South African team on Saturday hosts Al Ahly of Egypt — another Club World Cup team — in the first leg of the semifinals.
Sundowns and Esperance are both coming to the US in June as two of Africa’s four entries in the first 32-team Club World Cup organized by FIFA.
Both qualified because of consistently good results over four years in the CAF Champions League through 2024.
Sundowns has been drawn in a Club World Cup group with Ulsan of South Korea, Borussia Dortmund of Germany and Fluminense of Brazil, playing games in Orlando, Cincinnati and Miami.
Esperance is in a group with Chelsea of England, Brazil’s Flamengo and a third team that was to be Leon, which FIFA disqualified because it is in the same ownership as another Mexican team that qualified, Pachuca. Those games are in Philadelphia and Nashville.
Leon has a May 5 hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Madrid in its appeal against FIFA’s ruling. The Club World Cup is played in 11 US cities from June 14 to July 13.
