'Gloomy rabbit warren' - Sir Jim Ratcliffe hails new state-of-the-art Carrington redevelopment and admits Man Utd's training facilities used to be bleak

On Friday, United unveiled what the Carrington Training Complex looked like after a £50 million ($67m) redevelopment that has taken more than a year to complete. Minority owner Ratcliffe was particularly pleased with how the state-of-the-art facility looked and hopes this is part of a bigger effort to get the club back to the top of the game in the not-so-distant future. 

He said: "This is one of the most recognised brands in the world, 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 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 wouldn’t be done in 12 months, it will make the training facility, but I am pleased to say the project has come in on budget and on time. Thanks to Collette [Roche], Omar [Berrada], and the team. Thank you to Jason [Wilcox], Ruben [Amorim], and the technical staff for your many, many influences, which kept coming; eventually, I had to say stop. Thank you to Foster and Partners. 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. Thanks to Ruben and the sports staff for being very adaptable over the last 12 months. Had to train in not the ideal situations, in a difficult year. Had to put up with the training facilities. Finally, to Ruben, Bruno [Fernandes], and the players, I hope you enjoy your new home, and I hope it takes Manchester United where Manchester United needs to go. We should all be very proud of this new facility."

Ratcliffe is eager to see United return to their former glory but on the pitch, they are a long way from that. However, having a world-class training ground is a step in the right direction. This may mean little, though, if Ruben Amorim's team have another season like the one they had in 2024-25.

Aside from training ground developments, United round off their pre-season campaign against Fiorentina on Saturday before their Premier League season gets underway at home to Arsenal on August 17.