Man Utd chiefs 'surprised' over new £2bn stadium decision after Sir Jim Ratcliffe call

Manchester United have been surprised that Foster and Partners - the architecture firm who will build their new £2billion 100,00-seater stadium - has also opted to take on the redevelopment of the San Siro.

Those in Manchester have fears over whether the company, does not have offices in Milan or Manchester and are based in London, will have the resources to take on two mammoth projects. Sir Norman Foster’s relationship with Sir Jim Ratcliffe was key in the firm being picked to design the Red Devil's new stadium, which is due to cost around £2billion.

Foster has said the project will take five years, but with the iconic Italian stadium now also on their to do list, City AM has claimed that there is concern over how they will manage both assignments.

The Premier League giants confirmed their plans to leave Old Trafford and move to a new 100,000-seater stadium back in March. The new stadium will be the largest in the UK and built on club-owned land adjacent to Old Trafford. Ratcliffe said the intention is to create "an iconic football stadium".

The Ineos chief said: "By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home."

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Ratcliffe also said: "The north of England has won 10 Champions League medals, London has two. But London has Wembley, Twickenham, Wimbledon and the Olympic Village. The north of England deserves a stadium where England can play football, where we can hold the Champions League final, and one befitting of Manchester United's stature."

The design for the new stadium in Manchester is an a very early stage, consisting so far of some conceptual videos and images rather than detailed plans.

AC Milan and Inter Milan have confirmed they will redevelop the San Siro, which remains one of the most historic stadiums in the world and hosted the Champions League final as recently as 2016. The Milan stadium project is a long-running saga.

Previous plans for a 60,000-capacity stadium inspired by the city’s Duomo called “Cathedral” in 2019 was abandoned after the clubs failed to get the backing of the local authority and they have now had to look elsewhere for the redesign. Milan and Inter had announced plans to pursue separate stadium builds before coming back together last year in a joint redevelopment project on the site of the San Siro.

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