Man Utd debt set to increase as Glazer family plots £200m Old Trafford revamp

Manchester United's club debt is set to increase after the club announced they would be undertaking redevelopment of Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have employed the same master planners behind the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to oversee what is set to be an impressive revamp of the stadium. Reports have suggested that United could add 15,000 more seats to take the overall capacity to 88,000.

According to the Mail, the work is expected to take place on the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, and is set to cost more than £200m, with upgrades to the club’s corporate facilities also on the cards. The redevelopment would see Old Trafford become the second biggest stadium in the UK behind Wembley.

However, despite a likely increase in supply of match and season tickets, United supporters may have cause for concern. The club's debt stood at £495m at the end of 2021, but that could increase to closer to £700m in order for the work to be carried out, the Mail suggest.

The Glazer ownership of the club has been the subject of fierce protests for a number of years, but the American family remain in charge. Despite the rise in debt over the years, Joel Glazer defended the way the club was run last summer.

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When asked at a fans' forum about dividends of just over £23million that were paid to the owners in the 2019/20 financial year, he said: "I know this is a subject that a lot of people have a lot of different views on, but when we take things and look at things as a whole, we think that Manchester United is a very well run club, and we think clubs throughout football could take a look at us, and there's a lot of good to be seen when it comes to some of these things that are controversial.

"You know, we're able to spend with the top clubs throughout Europe, whether it's wages or transfer fees, we've been able to keep our ticket prices low, we've not increased them in over 10 years. We're able to pay a dividend but it's a modest proportion of our five to six hundred million pounds of revenue; it's less than three per cent of that.

"We're able to do all these things and that's to me the sign of a well-run club. It has never stood in the way of us pursuing players or transfers on the pitch. We may have walked away from transfers at times because the other side wanted an outlandish number. And while it's easy to pay it that one time, it does have consequences. You do it once and the next person expects it, and then the next person expects it. And that's not good, ultimately, for the club.

"So, we think that we're able to accomplish all these things and still have a very, very successful club and invest, and do everything that is necessary for a club of our stature."

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