Last March, Ratcliffe stated that he wanted United's new ground to become the ‘Wembley of the North’. However, plans to build this vast structure, which could cost upwards of £2 billion ($2.7bn), have been hit by financial troubles. Despite that, Ratcliffe explained why United had decided to pursue a new-build stadium, rather than redeveloping Old Trafford.
"We've got a ground at Old Trafford today, which is a bit piecemeal, isn't it? You know stadiums which were built or stands that were built at different times: they don't fit together very well," he said. "The roof leaks. It hasn't got the finest infrastructure. The players can't arrive underground and all that type of stuff. It's right next to the railway, which compresses the fans when they arrive, so we can't get people into the ground that easily and out of the ground.
"You know this expression: don't spend good money after bad. I think what would have happened if we tried to refurbish the stadium, we would have discovered that it actually would probably have been 70 per cent of the cost of building a new stadium. And in 25 years’ time, we'd be talking about building a new stadium because it wouldn't be perfect. So then we looked at the option of a new stadium and, of course, you can design the perfect stadium then - you can build a very large stadium.
"Ultimately, it came down to, you know, what's the wisest way of spending Manchester United's money? Because at the end of the day, it's Manchester United's money that effectively will be behind it."