Former Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards has called on the club to abandon its plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium and instead focus investment on the playing squad. United currently sit 17th in the Premier League, only outside the relegation zone on goal difference.
Stadium project continues despite on-pitch struggles
United's difficulties this season come as the club pushes ahead with plans to move from Old Trafford into a new state-of-the-art ground, described as the 'Wembley of the North'. The project took a step forward when the club spent £63.5 million on a 25-acre plot of land, with completion possible by around 2035.
Fans have been invited to give their views on topics including the stadium, heritage and legacy, atmosphere, the wider campus, and travel to and from the ground. However, there has been backlash from some supporters, with chants against the new stadium heard during protests aimed at co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family.
Edwards: 'No point in a wonderful stadium if you can't fill it'
Edwards, who was chairman between 1980 and 2002, spoke out against the project on Keys and Gray Unleashed. He said: "There's no point in having a wonderful stadium if you can't fill it."
He added: "The crowd have been vociferous about what they could do with the new stadium. And I tell you what – I can sympathise with that. You can talk about new stadiums and everything else, but the most important ingredient is always the players and what's happening on the field – and success. Now the last thing the United fans want to hear is a new stadium when they've got a team that's languishing 17th in the league, below Coventry. The priority has to be the team. Concentrate on getting that right. United now needs investment. I mean, they probably need investment on the stadium itself. So the club needs investment spending. The team definitely needs investment, doesn't it?"
Squad gaps and summer spending
United spent around £163 million on new signings in the summer, bringing in the likes of Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba. Despite interest in signing a left-back in the final weeks of the window, United were left with Luke Shaw as the only senior player in that position when the window closed. Benjamin Sesko's injury has also left the club short in the striker department, despite heavy investment in attack in summer 2025.
