Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has called on Sir Jim Ratcliffe to abandon plans to build a new stadium.
Ratcliffe, who acquired a minority stake in the Red Devils earlier this year, wants to modernise the dilapidated Old Trafford, either by renovating it or building a completely new stadium in its place, potentially costing up to £3bn, which would become the so-called “Wembley of the North”.
United’s stadium has been falling into disrepair in recent years, with problems with the roof causing flooding when it rains heavily in Manchester, and fans have also complained about the state of the stands, catering facilities and toilets. Ratcliffe believes fans will support the idea of building a new stadium, but Cantona is not so sure it is a good idea.
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The Frenchman says Ratcliffe should preserve the historic venue and fix what is broken, rather than tearing it all down and starting again. He also expressed fears that a new stadium could diminish the atmosphere and some of the essence of the club, citing Arsenal’s move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium in 2006 as an example.
Asked by the Daily Mail whether United should ever leave their stadium, Cantona said: “No, never. I think the stadium is very important. I remember the first day I arrived at Manchester United, I could feel the ghosts of the club, the players and everything. The energy of the club. The history. It’s a legacy. You can feel the soul of the club, you can feel the energy of the past very strongly. It’s very important.
“I can’t imagine Manchester United without Old Trafford. I can’t imagine Liverpool without Anfield or Real Madrid without the Santiago Bernabéu. I think some clubs change stadiums and lose their soul, like Arsenal, for example. When they left Highbury, they lost the soul of this club.”
With United owning a large tract of land around the ground, almost half of which is set for development, Ratcliffe’s proposal includes erecting the new venue next to Old Trafford, which would require demolishing the old stadium.
Speaking to Sky News, Ratcliffe said: “In my view there are very good reasons for having a ‘Wembley of the North’, which would serve the northern part of the country in that football arena. Having that world-class stadium there, I think, would provide the impetus to regenerate that region.”
Despite his reservations about the stadium move, Cantona believes Ratcliffe will bring positive change to United, and possibly even a return to the glory days.
“The interesting thing about the Premier League and the reason it’s followed all over the world is that so many clubs can win the league, you know. It’s very difficult to win the league,” he said. “A big club like Manchester United… you can see that Liverpool waited 30 years to win the league again. In these 30 years, they won two Champions Leagues and one UEFA Cup, so you can see how difficult it is to win the league.
“All Manchester United fans hope that they can win the league in the near future, but that might take two or three years. The most important thing is to recreate something. I remember that in my time, the players knew each other. We would say hello to each other. I think it is very important that we all work together as human beings and that all the energy between people is in the same room, for the same goal.
“It’s not just about the manager and the players. I think the club is a big family and we have to respect everyone and look after everyone and everyone should realise how important it is to work for this club for the same goal, to win trophies, big trophies.”
