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Premier League

Manchester United ‘mutiny’ if players see these facilities

With Old Trafford in desperate need of improvement, a new report claims that the Glazers are eager to keep players away from Tampa Bay.

Glazer family keep Manchester United away from Tampa Bay Buccaneers stadium
Andrew CouldridgeAction Images via Reuters

Ruben Amorim is tasked with turning around Manchester United’s on-field performances but there are other problems behind the scenes. For years Old Trafford was one of the world’s top soccer stadiums but it has slipped from prominence, a far cry from the newer Premier League venues.

The issue of facilities has become an increasingly animating topic among United fans and players, with roof leaks and rodent problems reported at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. The owing Glazer family have been blamed for a lack of investment in club investment and a new report suggests that they are well aware of their negligence.

The Athletic’s Mark Ogden recounts a story that Manchester United are deliberately kept away from the state-of-the-art facilities at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their tours to the United States. The Buccaneers, like United, are owned by the Glazers. However they recently added a new 100,000 square-foot indoor practice centre with air conditioning and space for 3,500 spectators.

Ogden claims that players are kept away from Tampa because “if the players had gone to the Buccaneers training ground and had realised what they had and what United don’t have, there might have been a mutiny at the club.

Last year it was reported that Manchester United were considering a huge project to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium. However the $2 billion investment was would likely require significant public funding to support it, something that is not common in UK sports.

Cristiano Ronaldo slams Old Trafford facilities

Players and fans alike have criticised the lack of investment in crucial infrastructure for years. However comments made in 2023 by former player Cristiano Ronaldo really cut through and highlighted the need for change.

CR7 left United in 2009 and returned in 2021, but revealed that there was no evidence of “evolution at the club” during his 12-year absence.

Nothing changed, surprisingly. Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym. Even the kitchen, the chefs, whom I appreciate - lovely people. They stopped in time. It surprised me a lot,” he explained.

“I thought I would see other things, technologies and infrastructure. Unfortunately, we see a lot of what I used to see at 21, 22 and 23 years old. It really surprised me.”

Those comments only served to highlight the dire situation at Manchester United, who also have to service $650 million in historic debt that was piled on the club by the Glazer takeover in 2005. That outstanding debt makes a huge infrastructure project of the type required very difficult to envision and United’s situation looks unlikely to change in the near future.

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