Manchester United are pushing ahead with plans for a new 100,000-seat stadium that could be funded in part by a naming rights deal – even as the club loads on more debt to sign midfield reinforcements.
Collette Roche, chief executive of United's New Stadium Development, confirmed the club will “potentially look at naming rights to the stadium” as part of what she called a “sanity, not vanity project”. The new ground will be built 350 yards north-west of Old Trafford on land the club acquired last month, with the wider 370-acre development expected to create 48,000 jobs and 15,000 homes.
“Man Utd plan naming rights for new £2bn stadium while agreeing £50m Santos transfer and Ederson deal”
The working cost of the stadium was previously stated at £2bn by United chief executive Omar Berrada in March 2025. United are already more than £1.3bn in debt, partly from the Glazer takeover in 2005, and refinancing last month added another $125m (£93.4m) to the amount owed. Supporters have voiced concern about further debt, but Roche said: “We’ve been really clear, this needs to be a sanity project, not a vanity project.”
On the pitch, United have agreed a £50m deal with Chelsea for Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos. The club will pay an initial £48m plus £2m in achievable add-ons, with Chelsea securing a 10% sell-on clause. Santos is cleared for a medical, with fellow countryman Ederson also scheduled to have one before completing his £35m move from Atalanta. The deals come after United missed out on Elliot Anderson (cost would have exceeded £110m) and Matheus Fernandes, who joined Tottenham for a guaranteed £85m.
United prioritised midfield after Casemiro’s contract ended and Manuel Ugarte was ruled out for an extended period with cruciate knee ligament damage. With Kobbie Mainoo still at the World Cup, United faced opening pre-season with Mason Mount as the only recognised senior midfielder. The club are also interested in Roma’s Manu Kone, who has been impressing at the World Cup, and could pay around £50m for the Frenchman. Atalanta’s Ederson is set for a second medical after Brazil’s elimination from the tournament.
Roche insisted the stadium plans are not set in stone. The “circus tent” design unveiled by minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in March 2025 was missing from the draft masterplan, but she said the club will consult fans and designers over the next few months, hoping to have “something to share” by the end of 2026 or early 2027. “I don’t know what the stadium will be called,” she said. “But everybody realises affordable, accessible ticket prices are really important. In order to do that, we need to generate revenue streams in other places.”