Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s time as Manchester United part-owner has not been universally loved by fans, and some are now taking exception to plans put in place ahead of the 2025-26 season
Manchester United supporters have voiced their frustrations after learning some fans will be moved for the 2025-26 season to make way for hospitality seats. The reported plans are understood to only affect a few hundred fans, but some of those are said to have been in their current seats for a number of years.
United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already made a number of unpopular decisions when it comes to ticketing. The removal of concession pricing for matches partway through this season brought protests, while there has been backlash to a decision to increase season ticket prices for next season.
“After 11 consecutive years of price freezes, we increased prices by five per cent for the past two seasons and intend to do the same for next season to offset continued rises in operating costs,” United’s chief executive Omar Berrada said of the latest planned price increase.
“We understand that any price rise is unwelcome, especially during a period of underperformance on the pitch. However, the club has decided that it would not be right to keep prices unchanged while costs rise and the club continues to face financial issues.”
United issued a statement of their own, saying: “Some of the general admission tickets directly adjacent to the home and away dugouts will be converted to hospitality seats, reflecting the high value of this unique location. We appreciate the disruption this will cause those fans who currently sit there and we will be contacting them individually to ensure a suitable alternative seat is found.”
READ MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe puts profit above loyalty AGAIN to alienate fed-up Man Utd fansREAD MORE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ‘begging’ called out by Paul Scholes with Man Utd legend suspicious
One fan told The Mail they considered the move “appalling”. “I’ve sat in the row behind the dugout for 34 years, and I get this email which is a disgrace,” they said.
“There are so many fans that are in the same predicament,” added another, who slammed what they considered “ruthless” behaviour by the club. “It has left us all absolutely gutted because we all sit together. It’s quite a community. I’m so disgusted, the club should be ashamed.”
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust had earlier issued a statement of its own after learning ticket prices would go up again. Before the announcement, some fans mounted a protest against majority owners the Glazer family ahead of a Premier League match against Arsenal.
“‘For several months we have argued long and hard that the club needs to look at the big picture and freeze ticket prices for next season,” MUST wrote. “Other clubs have done that already and at United it would have sent a powerful message about the need for everyone to pull together to get the club out of the very difficult position it finds itself in.”
Fan group The 1958 also hit out at what it dubbed “stealth rises,” including real-terms rises well above the 5 percent reported when it comes to older fans who have seen reductions in discounted ticket prices. “These are all stealth increases to change the optics of the 5% increase across all Season Ticket Holders. Again, penny wise and pound foolish,” the group wrote.
Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
