With ambitions to renovate Old Trafford, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is said to want to seek funding from billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
The idea of turning Old Trafford into the “Wembley of the North” was proposed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. However, everything is still on the table. The project is estimated to cost Manchester United around £2 billion, a figure that is double the £1 billion investment Tottenham spent on renovating their home ground White Hart Lane many years ago.
According to the Daily Mail , despite his large fortune, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is still seeking funding from major investors. Elon Musk, the boss of X and Tesla, and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, are the targets.
The source said Sir Jim Ratcliffe felt both world-famous billionaires “could be tempted by the appeal of Manchester United”. Finances would not be an issue for Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Musk’s net worth is estimated at £387.5bn, while Bezos’ is £196.1bn.
The last renovation of Old Trafford was in 2006.
The last renovation of Old Trafford was in 2006. Photo: Reuters.
The deterioration of Old Trafford is a hot topic on social media. On December 23, the Daily Mail reported that Manchester United’s home ground was infested with rats. Sanitation inspectors discovered rat droppings during their most recent inspection and rated the cleanliness of Manchester United’s home ground at just 2 out of 5 stars.
As well as the rats, inspectors have also found dead insects, undercooked chicken and expired meat in the food storage at Old Trafford.
Previously, the water pipe leak in the press room at Old Trafford stadium caused Manchester United to be criticized. This is not new when in the 2023/24 season, water leaked from the roof of Old Trafford stadium, creating a waterfall scene in the match against Arsenal in round 37 of the Premier League.
There are concerns that the Glazers will not give the green light to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plans to revamp Old Trafford. The American owners are reviewing Manchester United’s situation after the British billionaire’s drastic changes in management.
On December 19, British media reported that Sir Jim Ratcliffe “injected” an additional 79 million pounds into Manchester United, increasing his stake in the club to 28.94%. Previously, the British billionaire spent 1.2 billion pounds to buy back 27.7% of the “Red Devils” shares.
