Manchester United takeover bidder Thomas Zilliacus has made clear it would be his preference to modernise Old Trafford rather than build a new stadium.
The Finnish entrepreneur is one of three publicly known bidders to have submitted offers to acquire United. Zilliacus has experience in football, having previously been chairman in his homeland with capital club HJK Helsinki and also managed Singaporean side Geylang International.
Despite only joining Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani in the bidding late on, the 69-year-old has been vocal about various aspects of what ownership under his XXI Century Capital investment firm would look like. The boyhood United supporter has now addressed redeveloping or replacing Old Trafford.
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"I'm a big fan of tradition, and Old Trafford is an institution in itself; it would pain me to see Old Trafford replaced by a new stadium," Zilliacus said on the Sports Minutes podcast. "I would say my preference is to modernise Old Trafford if possible, but that is something which I'm not able at this stage to say yes or no to because I need to get more details on it.
"If a new stadium has to be built, it has to be built. There is a need for major improvements, but if it can be done to the existing Old Trafford, then absolutely that would be my preference."
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