Fans have reacted to Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000-seater, £2billion stadium, plans for which have been exclusively revealed by Mail Sport.
The new Old Trafford will sit beneath a vast 'umbrella' – complete with a public plaza twice the size of Trafalgar Square and their own version of Wembley Way in a breathtaking ‘city of the future’.
The promise of a new stadium had been a key part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bid to become co-owner of the Red Devils, and after debate over how this might manifest, the club has now announced they will go ahead with the new 100,000-seater plans.
However, the news has split opinion among fans on social media, many of whom have pointed to the massive outlay and how this might impact their current squad, who are widely regarded as well in need of reinforcement.
'Spend money on good players not things that can't help you win,' wrote one fan on X.
'Wow that is massive! Will we be successful enough to deserve it? No one will want to watch Championship club play in that!' added another.
Yet more fans were not entirely convinced by the design renderings that were released on Tuesday.
Three giant towers, inspired by the Red Devils’ trident, dominate the skyline and effectively hold up the ‘umbrella’ - a sweeping glass and steel canopy above that will keep fans dry inside and outside what would be comfortably Britain’s biggest stadium.
While futuristic and modern in its intent, though, a number of fans have perhaps not had the desired reaction, labelling it a 'circus'.
'Ffs looks like a circus,' wrote one, with the prerequisite emoji of a big top.
'Looks awful. Looks like a circus for the clowns gonna play in it' said another, while a third claimed it resembled a 'palace'.
But the comparisons to a circus continued to crop up as fans slowly reacted to the news on Tuesday morning.
'Haha circus tent,' wrote one football fan, before another seemed to send a barb towards the unpopular Glazer family co-owners: 'Glazers really building themselves a circus tent for the clowns that they are.'
Many more fans simply resorted to posting pictures of circus tents in response to United's message announcing the plans, one of which was accompanied by the caption: 'Glad to see United building a circus for all the clowns we have.'
Though not all were as underwhelmed by the plans, with many left excited for what the future holds for Man United.
'Bring it on. The greatest club will get the greatest stadium in the world,' wrote one optimistic supporter.
'INEOS has done more in a year than Glazers family did in about 20 years,' added another.
A huge wraparound scoreboard also features, along with a three-storey museum and canal-side restaurants as part of a vast fan village in a project Ratcliffe says will ‘preserve the essence of Old Trafford… while transforming the fan experience only footsteps from our existing home’.
Man United have also ambitiously proposed that the stadium, which would become the largest covered space in the world, will be completed within a timeframe of just five years.
‘Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years,’ said petrochemicals billionaire Ratcliffe, who has made the project a priority since taking a 29 per cent share in his boyhood club a year ago.
‘But it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport. By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.
‘Just as important is the opportunity for a new stadium to be the catalyst for social and economic renewal of the Old Trafford area, creating jobs and investment not just during the construction phase but on a lasting basis when the stadium district is complete,’ Ratcliffe added.
‘The Government has identified infrastructure investment as a strategic priority, particularly in the north of England, and we are proud to be supporting that mission with this project of national, as well as local, significance.’
