Manchester United legend Norman Whiteside and his wife, Dee, are handing their season tickets back at Old Trafford after 28 years.
Whiteside became United's youngest player since Duncan Edwards when he made his debut in 1982 at the age of just 16. He went on to play for 259 times for the club, scoring 63 times and helping them to three trophies, including two FA Cup titles.
Unfortunately for the Northern Irishman, injury problems plagued his career and he left Old Trafford for Everton in 1989, and he retired from football two years later at the age of just 26.
Whiteside and his wife continued to support United after leaving and became season ticket holders at Old Trafford in the late 90s. However, despite being platinum season ticket holders at Old Trafford by virtue of having the seats for more than 25 years, they have now made the decision not to renew their season tickets for the 2025/26 season.
Manchester United's Norman Whiteside
Their decision comes a year after they were forced to relocate their seats at Old Trafford to make way for executive seating. Dee explained their decision in an emotional statement on X. She wrote:
"So, I’ve waited for a while to write this. It is with unbelievable sadness, that after more than 28 years of having season tickets at Old Trafford, @NormanWhiteside and I are not renewing next year.
"Having been forcibly relocated last season, “red carded” for not attending enough games, unable to give my “paid for” seat to my children… enough is enough.
"And to cap it all, we’ve seen it all, we’ve won the lot, we’re Man United and we’re never gonna stop… except for so many seasons now, my match-going loyalty to my club has ended so sadly.
"I’ll still be at games, I’m MUFC until I die, and I’ve seen worse times than now, but I’m not sure I’ve seen players less interested in pulling on our shirt for very many years. Times must change."
After it was revealed United were moving season ticket holders from block S122 last year, a change that impacted the Whitesides, a spokesperson for the club said at the time, per ManchesterEveningNews: “We have the greatest respect for Norman as a legend of the club, and understand the disappointment caused to him and other season ticket-holders by seat relocations.
"There are various reasons why this happens, including, next season, the moving of matchday hospitality seats into consolidated blocks to address fan concerns about them being dispersed around the stadium.
"Other changes next season include the removal of hospitality seating from the Stretford End and installation of further rail seating in the North-West Quadrant, bringing benefits to many fans but also causing some disruption.
"No additional hospitality seats are being created at the expense of season ticket-holders — in fact hospitality seating will reduce by more than 500 next season. We are committed to working with all season ticket-holders affected by relocations, including Norman, to find them the best possible alternative seats elsewhere in the ground.”