Old Trafford demolition plan outlined as Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants 'Wembley of the North' for Man Utd

Manchester United new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking to create a ‘Wembley of the North’ for the Red Devils.

Back in December, it was announced that British billionaire and INEOS boss Ratcliffe had agreed a deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Old Trafford club.

It has been reported that Ratcliffe and his team will head up the football operations whilst the Glazers deal with the commercial side.

Ratcliffe has also pledged to upgrade the club’s iconic Old Trafford stadium.

According to a report by The Telegraph, the British businessman wants to create a ‘Wembley of the North’ for United.

A source told the publication: “He feels the club needs an absolute state-of-the-art, knock-it-out-of-the-park, ‘wow’ ‘stadium.

“And we feel there’s a strong argument for the country having a top-class major venue in the North – a Wembley of the North.”

Despite being opposed to moving to a new location, Ratcliffe is said to be open to the idea of building a brand new stadium given the fact that the location is the same.

As a result, United’s 114-year home Old Trafford could be demolished to make way for a brand new stadium.

The source added: “The spiritual home is important. We think the fans would be quite happy to accept a brand new stadium if we stay where we are.

“Ultimately you’ve still got a 1910 building.”

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It has been claimed that the estimated cost to expand the current stadium could be more than £800 million.

Meanwhile, to build a new stadium is set to cost around £1.5 billion to £2 billion.

The source said: “It shouldn’t be a burden on the club because a new stadium should be paying for itself effectively.

“If you’ve got a new 90,000 stadium you’ve got 20,000 new people paying for that stadium.”