Manchester United could be plunged almost £1billion into debt by the plan to redevelop Old Trafford.
Chief executive Richard Arnold’s confession to fans last week that he is struggling to find the cash to haul United’s historic home into the 21st century has opened up the prospect of their American owners taking out a mortgage on the ground they have owned for 112 years.
One other option would be to sell the naming rights to the stadium - as Barcelona have done recently with the Nou Camp - but that would cause uproar with the more militant members of United’s huge support. United, debt-free when the late Malcolm Glazer and his family implemented a leveraged buy-out in 2005, are currently £500million in the red.
