Sir Jim Ratcliffe disagrees with Man United legend on Old Trafford stadium change

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25 per cent stake in Manchester United was confirmed by the club on Christmas Eve after a 13-month-long process.

The British billionaire will take complete control of the footballing operations at United and will be looking to bring in a sporting director to help lead change for the club going forward.

Whilst there are many concerns about improvement in the performances on the pitch for Ratcliffe, there are also demands for infrastructure changes after stagnant progress in recent years.

Old Trafford has had minimal work done since the Glazer family took charge in 2005, and Carrington has gone from one of the best training grounds in the country to one bettered by many Premier League clubs.

Ratcliffe will provide an injection of around £237 million for investment into the club’s infrastructure, particularly Old Trafford and Carrington.

There are multiple options to take in relation to the stadium, including knocking down Old Trafford and building a new stadium, but there hasn’t been much conversation about renaming the iconic stadium for added revenue for the club.

It has been something done by many clubs within the Premier League and around Europe in recent years. FC Barcelona renamed their stadium the ‘Spotify Camp Nou’ after a sponsorship agreement last year.

This option has previously been something that Gary Neville, former captain and defender at Old Trafford, believed would be positive for the club in a deal worth ‘£60, £70, £80 million-a-year’ to ‘subsidise ticket prices‘.

However, Sir Jim has previously addressed this idea when in the bidding process for the club and stated that a change of name will never happen with him at the club.

“I hadn’t thought of that, but no,” the Manchester-born billionaire stated when asked about the prospect, as quoted by The Mirror. “That would be heresy. I would not change it. It’s always Old Trafford.”