Man United may have major issue getting rid of Glazers if £2bn stadium is built

The stadium has been estimated to cost £2billion as part of a wider regeneration project in the area. United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe previously suggested that the work could be completed for the 2030/31 season, though the stadium is expected to take five years to build once construction starts.

United recently confirmed that the stadium will be financed privately but the necessary land around the intended site must be purchased before construction can begin. In February, financial accounts for the second quarter showed that the club’s debt stood at almost £1.3bn.

An industry expert has claimed that United are unlikely to fund the project through conventional debt or shared equity. However, an alternative could prove problematic if United’s co-owners, the Glazers or Ratcliffe, decide to sell their stakes in the club at some point in the future.

An architectural industry source told the Manchester Evening News: “[The club] are kind of up to their ears in various forms of conventional debt, some of which is due or has covenants due next year. It’s unlikely they do it with shared equity, because that would dilute the value of the Glazers’ share or Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s share.

“Some sort of subsidiary stadium company could be the answer. Then that's partly owned by the club and partly owned by external investors. That external investment then pays for the project.

“The problem with that is, when you subsequently sell the club, assuming that's what the Glazers and Ratcliffe want to do when the value of it goes up, then you're not selling the club plus 100% of Old Trafford. You’re selling the club, plus whatever percentage of Old Trafford the club owns.”

The Glazer family became United's majority owners through a leveraged buyout in 2005 and have been the subject of multiple fan protests during their tenure. Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7 per cent stake in United in early 2024.

Should a stadium company be formed, the Glazers or Ratcliffe could sell their United stakes while retaining a partial stake in the new stadium. However, there are several hurdles United need to overcome in their efforts to build a new home ground.

An architectural industry expert told MEN Sport: “[The club are] clearly trying to work on the funding and until they get that, nothing’s happening really. There is speculation within the industry that the figure quoted for the whole project is optimistic. So it may end up being considerably more than that.”

One of the key priorities is purchasing all the necessary land for the intended site, which includes a patch owned by Freightliner, situated behind the Stretford End. United appointed Collette Roche as new stadium development chief executive in January and she provided an update on the project last month.

"We've made a lot of progress in the last 12 months," Roche said. "But to be fair, a lot of it has been behind the scenes. So people might not have seen that, but some of the examples of progress we've made are first and foremost in land assembly.

"We want to make sure we get the best possible position for this stadium, one which has got plenty of land around it to put the right facilities in place, one that's connected and offers a great match day experience.

"So I've been spending a lot of time talking to all the local landowners to understand where that needs to be, and we're progressing that really, really well, and I'm hoping to be able to share some positive news on that front in the next few months."

She continued: “I think the second area that we've done a lot in is around investment, and I'm delighted to say we've had a lot of interest. There's a lot of people and organisations that want to invest, not just in the stadium, but also in the wider stadium district. And so those conversations are naturally going to be behind closed doors.”