Manchester United stance on renaming Old Trafford to fund Sir Jim Ratcliffe's £2bn dream

Manchester United will consider selling naming rights to Old Trafford to help fund a new stadium or significant redevelopment, but they will keep the iconic name in some form if a deal does go ahead.

Ineos are considering a range of options to raise finance for work at the stadium, while a working group to look into the feasibility of building a new ground prepares to report towards the end of this year.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s desire is to build a new stadium on the existing Old Trafford footprint but such a project would likely cost in excess of £2bn. That has led Ineos to consider finance through bank loans, selling naming rights for the stadium or raising ticket prices.

Club sources insist all avenues are being considered at the moment but no firm decisions have been made. United and Ineos are aware that such issues around the stadium could be contentious and discussion and consultation will take place.

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If United opt to renovate Old Trafford then they will keep the existing name of the stadium, making comparisons to the cricket ground, now known as Emirates Old Trafford, as striking a balance between a naming rights deal and sticking with tradition.

A new-build stadium on the same site will present a different opportunity and the ground could have an entirely different name, but United will aim to keep some link to Old Trafford and don’t want to eradicate the name from their history or the minds of fans.

The 114-year-old stadium has always been known as Old Trafford and has never had a naming rights partner. New-build stadiums are now more commonly associated with naming rights, such as Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Tottenham are still seeking a naming rights partner for their new stadium.

Ratcliffe has spoken previously of his desire to build a new stadium that could become a 'Wembley of the north', hosting international matches and FA Cup semi-finals.

"You have got this opportunity if you choose to, to build a completely new ground, because we have got enough space," he said.

"If you built a completely new ground it would absolutely be state-of-the-art, world-class, 90,000 or maybe even 100,000 that then provides a platform for some of the big competitions in the north of England.

"Why do England always play in the south? Why is the FA Cup final always in the south? Why can't the Champions League final be in the north occasionally?

"Football in the north is just as important as it is in the south, arguably more so, and the people in the north pay their taxes, so why do we have Wembley, Twickenham, Wimbledon etc in the south?

"What have we got in the north? There's a strong argument to build a 'Wembley of the north'."