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SIR JIM RATCLIFFE SNUBBED WHILE UNITED PLANS MONUMENTAL STADIUM UPGRADE

Mayor Andy Burnham reaffirms no public money will fund Man Utd's new £2bn New Trafford stadium. A development corporation will oversee wider area regeneration, aiming for the 2035 Women's World Cup final.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe Snubbed While United Plans Monumental Stadium Upgrade
Jim Ratcliffe Denied Funding Request - Photo Credit: PA Wire

The pledge that "not a penny of public money" will be used to construct Manchester United's new stadium, New Trafford, has been reaffirmed by Andy Burnham.

At a lavish London presentation in March, United unveiled its ambitious plan for a state-of-the-art stadium with 100,000 seats to replace Old Trafford. The club's controversial co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliff, hinted that the massive project would be completed by 2030. The billionaire tax exile even proposed that taxpayers contribute to the £2 billion plan's funding.

Ratcliffe argued: "People in the north pay their tax, and there is an argument you could think about a more ambitious project in the north which would be fitting for England, for the Champions League final or the FA Cup final." Ratcliffe has been responsible for several of the ruthless cuts at United since the chairman of INEOS chemicals took over in February 2024.

On The Added Time Podcast, the mayor of Greater Manchester has remained steadfast in his position that no public funds would be allocated for the stadium itself.

However, according to the Manchester Evening News, a Mayoral Development Corporation has recently been established for the larger ground-level revitalisation project, which is expected to yield significant financial benefits.

"We have a fairly clear premise here at the beginning of this journey with the Mayoral Development Corporation, so it is not about handing them money," Burnham stated. The stadium will be funded by Manchester United. None of the public funds will be used for that.

But given the financial advantages that come with it, we undoubtedly have a part to play in making the stadium as good as it can be. If you consider it, the train station behind the stand has been abandoned for safety reasons for a number of years.

The public would greatly benefit from this since part of it would see that station moved somewhat, perhaps closer to Lou Macari's Chippy or somewhere nearby. Once it reopens, it would greatly benefit the local villages of Gorst Hill, Stretford, and the residents.

"It is considerably wider than the ground itself, with thousands of new dwellings and thousands of new employment."

According to the Manchester Evening News, United and the city area are collaborating in an effort to secure key FIFA Women's World Cup events for the arena in 2035, including the championship match.

"I am so involved that we have just asked parliament to form a Mayoral Development Corporation," Burnham said, endorsing the goal of holding the 2035 World Cup final in Manchester. Thus, it is a vehicle, a legal entity, that will be in charge of the area's overall regeneration.

"I am more accountable for the surroundings of any new stadium. As a city and a region, we have a tremendous opportunity. The neighbourhood surrounding the former Salford docks comes to mind when you think about that location.

On the opposite side of you is Media City. If we get it right, this place might become a global destination. There are freight terminals behind the current Old Trafford that send many trains into Manchester city centre, but I know that people here find it difficult to understand how that affects living on this end of the M62 [Liverpool].

"It produces congestion in Manchester, which is a big factor in the havoc on the northern railways. As a result, every train travelling across the nation frequently arrives in Liverpool late.

"There are a lot of reasons why this initiative makes sense. In fact, it would cause growth here [Liverpool] by moving the freight tunnels to St Helens.

It is a significant development initiative for the entire Northwest. And if we really get things going, I believe there is a good chance we will be hosting the FIFA World Cup for women in 2035. That is an exciting idea.

"Consider a final at the recently constructed Old Trafford. Indeed, it would be a remarkable event.

While negotiations to secure important land pieces continue, the new stadium's layout has been placed on hold. The railway depot surrounding Old Trafford is owned by Freightliner, and this area is essential to achieving the ambitious goals.

United is still optimistic that it can find a deal to acquire the land required for its groundbreaking stadium project.

EX-CAPTAIN NEVILLE CLAIMS SUBSTITUTIONS MADE MANCHESTER UNITED "WORSE" AGAINST WOLVES

Gary Neville slams Ruben Amorim’s "weird" substitutions and tactical shifts after Manchester United's 1-1 draw with bottom-side Wolves.

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Was the halftime substitution a tactical error or an injury?

Gary Neville said that the performance of Manchester United in their match against winless Wolves was ‘the baddest of the bad.’

United would have moved fourth in the league with a win at Old Trafford last night, although Wolves, who had two points in 18 games before kickoff, ended their record of 11 straight losses with a 1-1 draw.

Amorim’s team had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by a League Two team, Grimsby, in August, but Neville was convinced that United had hit rock bottom in a game that could have been even more one-sided were it not for two important saves by Senne Lammens.

“That was the baddest of the bad," the former United captain declared on the Gary Neville podcast.

“They weren’t just booed off at the final whistle. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They’ve gone backwards.”

United had won at Newcastle 1-0 on Boxing Day, despite being plagued by an injury list that already lacked skipper Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Matthijs de Ligt, as well as three players on African Cup of Nations duty.

But they remained flat right from the first whistle, and the header by Ladislav Krejci just before the half bottled Joshua Zirkzee's deflected shot.

Amorim’s formation choice of 3-4-3 was brought into focus once more as the Portuguese opted to go back to his preferred tactic of four at the back against Newcastle.

“This isn’t right. I’ve watched enough of United over the last five or six weeks to know what looks right and what isn’t right,” Neville had declared 20 minutes into his commentary on Sky Sports.

“Because, when I see that we go back (to three at the back) after five minutes tonight, I’m thinking, no, Ruben, why have you done that?

"The manager has to look at that and think, I got that wrong. I complicated it."

However, Amorim decided to substitute Zirkzee at halftime and brought on an 18-year-old Jack Fletcher, who made his third appearance at the senior level.

Regarding substitutions made by Amorim, Neville further added, “They made Manchester United worse. Every single substitution was ridiculous.”

‘If Zirkzee was injured, and it was a tactical substitution, that was a very poor one.’ But Zirkzee isn't Eric Cantona, not by a long shot, and he had to get out there for physicality, for presence, for experience.”

SEE LISANDRO MARTINEZ’S FURIOUS REACTION AFTER MAN UTD’S SHOCK WOLVES DRAW

Lisandro Martinez demands more after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Wolves. United ended 2025 sixth in the Premier League.

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Martinez slams United’s tactical mistakes

Stand-in captain Lisandro Martinez was mad that Manchester United dropped points against Wolves, who are at the bottom of the league.

United came into the last game of 2025 after a good win against Newcastle on Boxing Day and were expected to easily beat Wolves.

Joshua Zirkzee scored first for United, but they didn't take their chances. Ladislav Krejci's header tied the game for Wolves, 1-1.

It was only their third point in 19 games, and it stopped their 11-game losing streak. United fans booed at the end of the game.

When Martinez was asked if it felt like a disappointing point, he said, 100 percent.

We are very disappointed. We can't keep drawing or losing points at home. We have to win.

We want to be at the top, competing with the best.

We can't drop points in games like this. We just have to accept it and be hungry for the next game.

Martinez was captain again because Bruno Fernandes is still recovering from an injury.

When United coach Ruben Amorim was asked about injured players for the game against Leeds on Sunday, he didn't give much away. Leeds are really wanting to beat United for the first time since 2010.

Martinez said to MUTV, You can either make excuses, or you can be strong and say, 'We're dropping points, so we need to go for the next one and show what we can do.'

We need to work together and do the easy things to get the three points.

United is in sixth place in the league at the end of 2025, only two points behind Liverpool for the last Champions League spot. Liverpool has a game in hand.

They could be in a better position if they had been better in both boxes. Leeds has been playing well lately, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin doing great up front.

Martinez added, It's about us. I don't like to think about other teams.

I'm thinking about what we can do to get better as a team every day, and we have to learn from this game.

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