Sir Jim Ratcliffe compares Man Utd to Coca-Cola as he unveils new £50m investment

Manchester United have been showing off the club’s £50million transformation of their Carrington training base, which has got Sir Jim Ratcliffe very excited indeed

Sir Jim Ratcliffe believes Manchester United now have a “world-class facility” following the £50m transformation of the club’s training ground – befitting a brand that “stands shoulder to shoulder with Coca-Cola and Apple.”

The Red Devils have called Carrington home since January 2000, when they left their longstanding base, The Cliff, to move into a facility that cost £14.3m to build at the time. The training ground has undergone renovations over the past 25 years but had fallen behind many Premier League clubs, leading United to announce plans to turn it into a state-of-the-art complex last June.

The renovation work was completed during the 2024-25 season and Ruben Amorim’s squad moved into the men’s first team building this week having returned from their pre-season tour of the United States. Ratcliffe’s $300m (£236.7m at the time of the agreement) infrastructure investment as part of the deal to become minority owner funded a project that he believes will help United in their fight to return to the top.

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“This is one of the most recognised brands in the world,” the United co-owner said during a ceremony in which he cut a red ribbon in front of the first-team squad, club leadership and staff. “It stands shoulder to shoulder with Coca-Cola and Apple.

“The club has to compete at the highest level that is appropriate to the size and history of the club. While a world-class training facility won’t take us to that position alone, it is one of the key ingredients in the modern facility. Now we have one.

“When I first came to Carrington two years ago, we had a presentation here. It was clear then. It is an excellent facility. It was (leading edge) I am sure in 2000 but 25 years later it wasn’t at quite at the level it needed to be for one of the top four or five clubs in the world.

“It was the first big decision when we arrived in the first quarter of 2024, to invest in this training facility. There were lots of naysayers, who said ‘that won’t be done in 12 months’…but I am pleased to say the project has come in on budget and on time.”

Foster + Partners – also appointed last September to develop a masterplan for the Old Trafford stadium district – led the biggest upgrade to Carrington since it opened at the turn of the millennium. The club say it has been “designed to inspire collaboration, innovation and excellence”, with top-tier equipment and technology throughout a building that is light and open.

Reflecting on the old building, Ratcliffe said: “Downstairs, there weren’t many windows on the ground floor. It felt like you were in a hospital in the basement. It was a slightly gloomy place, a gloomy rabbit warren. Now it is open, fresh, quite modern. It encourages interaction. That is what we needed.”

The medical areas have been vastly improved and players’ wellbeing has been at the forefront of the plans, which has even included a barbers being built next to the restaurant.

Chief operating officer Collette Roche, who led the project, said: “I’m really, really proud of the team. As you know, with any project, it’s complex, and we’ve had to work in an environment while there’s lots of things going on in the background, lots of change in the club, and also make sure that we kept everything running.

“So, it’s been fantastic, on budget and on time and I think it just proves, for me, if you do a project of this size and scale, and you involve people, and you plan it in the right way, just how amazing and transformative it can be.”

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