Jim Ratcliffe details his controversial plans for Man Utd to leave Old Trafford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has astonishingly revealed he is keen on the idea of moving Manchester United out of the "tired" Old Trafford.
Britain's richest man believes that by building a plush new ground for the Red Devils, the club's new stadium could also double up as a national stadium located in the north of the country. Ratcliffe made clear that though United's current stomping ground is in desperate need of a makeover, his preference would be to move the club somewhere new entirely.
"It's about time someone built a national stadium in the north of England," the INEOS chief explained. "If it can be achieved, it would clearly be my preference. I would be very excited for the north of England."
Ratcliffe's comments come after his purchase of 25 per cent of United was confirmed by the Premier League. The billionaire harbours hopes that by building a new ground, that same venue could host England fixtures, as well as FA Cup semi-finals and even the Champions League final in years to come.
Old Trafford has actually hosted the Champions League final once before, all the way back in 2003 when AC Milan got the better of Serie A rivals Juventus. Ratcliffe feels that there has been a tendency to favour the south of the country when it comes to major sporting events.
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This season's Champions League final will be contested under the iconic Wembley arch. It has only been 11 years since it hosted the final of the 2013 edition of the competition for Bayern Munich's triumph over Borussia Dortmund.
Many United fans had hoped extra seating could simply be added to Old Trafford, but Ratcliffe has made clear that would be difficult due to the age of the stadium.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed his 25 per cent stake in Man United and is discussing moving the club out of Old Trafford (PA)He claimed: "Trafford Park is where the industrial revolution began. If you look at that region of Manchester today - only a mile from the centre - it is tired and neglected and parts are quite run down. There is quite a big argument, in my view, for regenerating that whole south side of Manchester.
"The nucleus of it would be building a new world-class state-of-the-art stadium which could take England games, the FA Cup final, Champions League finals. It could serve the north of England.
"There is a bias in the UK in terms of where national stadiums have been built - they are all in the south. There is a lot of talk about levelling up. HS2 has been cancelled and all that is going to be spent on the rail network in London.
"The people in the north pay their taxes just as the people in the south. Why shouldn't there be a venue in the north of England for England to play at? Why does everyone in the north have to go to the south for the semi-finals of the FA Cup?"
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