The major Man Utd decision confirmed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe that most fans missed

Sir Jim Ratcliffe certainly knows how to make a splash and day no.1 as a Manchester United co-owner provided as thorough an introduction as any fan could have asked for.

In a wide-ranging interview with 13 outlets, Ratcliffe discussed key topics such as his feelings at becoming a minority shareholder, the long-term aims for the club and the plans for Old Trafford. Ratcliffe also took time for longer interviews with the BBC and internal club media.

While the latter mainly covered the same topics discussed in Ratcliffe’s previous Q&A sessions, there was one nugget of information gleaned that may have have passed supporters by. The 71-year-old has set aside $300m (£238m) to be invested in improving club infrastructure, and there have been several reports in recent months that Ratcliffe wants to improve both Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training base.

Yet, for the meantime, it seems like only one of those will come to fruition, with Ratcliffe prioritising the construction of a new stadium - and he seemed to imply that suggestions of an imminent move to a new training ground are wide of the mark.

“Yes [Carrington is in our thoughts], but I think it's secondary to Old Trafford,” he told MUTV. “Carrington is fairly impressive, I think. I quite like Carrington as a facility. I mean, I think there are things that we can do to improve it, but I don't think they're of the magnitude that the stadium requires.”

United moved to Carrington from The Cliff in 2000 but the training ground has seen little investment and modernisation in recent years, under the Glazers’ watch. Cristiano Ronaldo criticised the set-up at Carrington in his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan in 2022.

“Nothing changed, surprisingly. Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym. Even the kitchen, the chefs, whom I appreciate – lovely people. They stopped in time. It surprised me a lot,” he said. “I thought I would see other things, technologies, and infrastructure. Unfortunately, we see a lot of what I used to see at 21, 22, and 23 years old. It really surprised me.”

Charlie Savage, who left the club last summer, also claimed League One Reading’s facilities were on a par with United’s training base.

But for now, building a new stadium, creating a ‘best-in-class’ sporting hierarchy and the creation of a side capable of competing for the Premier League title, will be Ratcliffe’s primary ambitions.