Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘to commit £245m to improve Man United’s ageing infrastructure’, with the billionaire ‘set to hand over the majority of the investment before the end of the year’

• Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to take a 25 per cent stake at Manchester United 
• He will pledge to invest £245m to improve the club’s ageing infrastructure 
• Is Erik ten Hag out of his depth at Man United? Listen here to It’s All Kicking Off

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will reportedly pledge to invest $300m (£245m) to improve Manchester United’s ageing infrastructure as he prepares to take a 25 per cent stake in the club.

Mail Sport revealed last month that Ratcliffe had agreed to take a minority stake at Old Trafford after Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani pulled out of the race to buy the club.

Despite the Glazer family still remaining in majority control at United, Ratcliffe is expected to take a hand-on approach to the day-to-day running of the club.

He has set his sights on improving United’s infrastructure, and the billionaire will unveil plans to spend £245m on fixing the matter later this month, according to Sky News.

This will be as part of his deal to take a 25 per cent stake, although the deal still needs to be ratified despite being agreed.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has pledged to invest £245m to improve Man United’s infrastructure

The Glazer family have been criticised for not improving the club’s facilities

Old Trafford has not been redeveloped in recent years, and was not selected as one of the venues to host matches at Euro 2028

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This is not expected to delay the investment, though, as Ratcliffe is expected to hand over the majority of the money to the club before the end of the year.

It is also understood that Ratcliffe will fund the investment himself, and will not add to United’s existing borrowings. 

The infrastructure at United has been called into question regularly by players, pundits and fans in recent years.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit out at the club’s training facilities upon return to the club for his second spell, claiming they had not changed since he first left the club in 2009.

Gary Neville has also been a vocal critic of the lack of development at Old Trafford under the Glazer family.

He believes United no longer have the best stadium in the country, pointing out how parts of the roof are leaking, leading to Old Trafford being left off the list of venues to host matches at Euro 2028.

Neville has repeatedly insisted United should have ‘the best in class’ but has been left marvelling at the upgrades made at Tottenham and Real Madrid while there has been a lack of development at Old Trafford.

With this in mind, Ratcliffe’s investment appears to be a step in the right direction, with the 71-year-old reportedly keen to accelerate plans to increase the stadium capacity at Old Trafford from 76,000 to 90,000.

Gary Neville has been a fierce critic of the lack of development at Old Trafford under the Glazers

Giving the stadium a more modern look and improving the team’s training facilities would also be a welcome boost, and Neville has made it clear that he feels handling off-field matters better will lead to better results on the pitch.

United have struggled badly at the start of this season, losing five of their opening 10 matches in the league, while they were also dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle on Wednesday.

Neville hinted in the aftermath of that defeat that Erik ten Hag’s days at the club could be numbered as he posted on social media ‘we know how it ends’.

But Ratcliffe’s investment could provide United with a much-needed lift at a crucial stage in their season as they look to get back on track after a torrid couple of months on and off the pitch. 

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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