Manchester United are planning to fully privately finance the construction of their new stadium, which could bring the club’s total debt to £4.5bn (£3.4bn).
However, management is optimistic, with interest from potential investors already significant. The idea of building a “Wembley of the North” has been an ambition of co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe since early 2024.
The project envisages a 100,000-seat stadium, which would be the largest in the UK, as part of a major urban regeneration plan for the area around Old Trafford. A club spokesman confirmed to the fans forum that the financing will be entirely private, and COO Colette Roche said that talks with investors are ongoing.
“I am pleased to say that we have a lot of interest — many people and organizations want to invest not only in the stadium but also in the entire area around it”, she said.
United's debt currently stands at $1.8 billion. It has been accumulated since the controversial purchase of the club by the Glazer family in 2005, as well as from unpaid transfer fees of more than $668 million.
If the construction of the new stadium costs approximately $2.7 billion, the total debt could reach $4.5 billion — a figure that puts the “Red Devils” in an unprecedented financial situation for a club that until 2005 had been virtually debt-free for nearly 70 years years.