3
Manchester United were offered a new stadium for free before 2002 according to a British politician, Graham Stringer.
The Red Devils recently announced plans for a £2 billion stadium that will reportedly be built in five years.
The plans claim that the new stadium will be adjacent to the current Old Trafford and hold 100,000 fans.
It would make United’s new ground the biggest in the country and the second largest in Europe after the new Camp Nou in Barcelona.
Sir Jam Ratcliffe has claimed that the new stadium could become a destination “like the Eiffel Tower in Paris.”
United’s current stadium has had a catalogue of problems including a leaking roof as the Glazers have refused to invest any serious money into the stadium since taking over the club in 2005.
Nonetheless, according to Manchester MP Graham Stringer, United were offered the chance to move into a new stadium for free before the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Writing in Manchester Confidential he claimed, “on a personal note, I find deep irony in the current situation. It could have been avoided if United had accepted an offer from Manchester City Council when we were planning the 2002 Commonwealth Games.”
The Labour politician went on to claim that the plan was to covert the Games’ venue into “an 80,000+ replacement or competitor for Wembley.”
“United were the only club with sufficient support to make this viable. I had meetings with Roland Smith, who then chaired United’s board. He rejected the offer.”
After being knocked back by United, he claimed the council went to Manchester City with their offer “who bit our hand off.”
The politician claimed that the new “state-of-the-art stadium made them attractive to first Thaksin Shinawatra and then to the Abu Dhabi United Group” which eventually led to their era of success in the last 15 years or so.
In other words, it was a sliding doors moment that could have seen United save £2 billion and at the same time rob their noisy neighbours of everything they have achieved over the last 13 years.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
