Man Utd consider drastic move to raise funds as Jim Ratcliffe risks angering supporters

Manchester United are said to be considering selling the naming rights to Old Trafford or a newly-built stadium to help fund the infrastructure project. Earlier this year, the club confirmed their intentions to knock down their current stadium and build a new state-of-the-art venue.

Minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe previously declared his ambitions to build a ‘Wembley of the North’ after labelling Old Trafford as “tired and in need of refurbishment”.

A new stadium could cost the club as much as £3billion, while a revamp of Old Trafford would set the Red Devils back somewhere in the region of £1bn.

According to The Athletic, United have held exploratory discussions with major financial institutions, including the Bank of America, in an attempt to explore funding options to raise the cash needed to cover the outlay of the stadium project. But club sources told the outlet anonymously that no decisions have yet been made.

If United do decide to scrap plans for a new stadium and rejuvenate their current arena, they reportedly may keep its name as it is and instead bring an associated partner on board.

But if they opt for a new stadium, the Red Devils are said to be willing to sell the name altogether and would look to command 10s of millions of pounds as a result. United refused to comment on the report when approached by Express Sport on Wednesday.

United’s stadium has always been known as Old Trafford since being built 114 years ago. And a change of name would risk upsetting some fans. Arsenal and Manchester City have sold the naming rights to their stadiums in the past, with the Gunners’ home now known as the Emirates Stadium, while City call theirs the Etihad Stadium.

Ratcliffe touched upon the club’s home when he addressed written media once his purchase of a minority stake was completed in February. And the businessman explained: “You can increase your revenues by building a new stadium, rebuilding a stadium or putting all the facilities in.

“You have to think practically because money doesn’t grow on trees. The two most talked-about issues at Manchester United are number one, the football - the performance on the pitch - and the second one is the stadium.

“What we can see so far is a really good case to refurbish Old Trafford, probably about £1billion in cost. You finish up with a great stadium, it’s probably an 80,000-90,000-seater.

“But it’s not perfect because you’re modifying a stadium that is slap-bang up against a railway line and all that type of stuff, so it’s not an ideal world. But you finish up with a very good answer. Manchester United needs a stadium befitting one of the biggest clubs in the world and, at the moment, it’s not there.”

Meanwhile, the Red Devils are also reportedly deliberating over whether to substantially increase their ticket prices. The club have already upped their season ticket prices by five per cent ahead of the new season, but are considering a further price hike to raise capital for the stadium project.

And higher ticket prices are unlikely to go down well with supporters, who saw their team finish eighth in the Premier League last season - their lowest position since the top-flight was rebranded in 1992.