The Guardian: Manchester United buys land for a new stadium for 400 million pounds, but La Jue is only willing to pay 50 million

According to the British media Guardian, Manchester United's plan to build new and old Trafford encountered some obstacles at the beginning. They were in a deadlock when negotiating land acquisition, and the quotations between the two sides were huge.

Club needs to acquire land currently as a railway freight hub to serve as part of the land for building a new stadium. Manchester United has negotiated with freight hub operator Freightliner on land acquisition. Although Freightliner is willing to relocate, they offer a price of as much as 400 million pounds, while Manchester United's valuation of land is only 40 million to 50 million pounds. Ratcliff explicitly rejected the offer of Freightliner's parent company, and the preliminary negotiations are deadlocked.

sources said Freightliner had settled for Manchester United, and although the company was willing to move (the new freight station would increase rail capacity), they had no urgent need for relocation. The club believes that Freightliner can make huge profits only if the other party is willing to lower the asking price.

Manchester United's current choices include: increasing the quotation, waiting for the other party to reduce the price, and reducing the project size to avoid the plot. The mayor development company of the New Trafford, chaired by Sebastian Coe, is also likely to issue a mandatory purchase order, but this will face legal challenges and lead to further delays in the stadium’s start time.

When announcing the overall plan for the new stadium design in March this year, Ratcliffe set a goal of completing the project by 2030. The club originally hoped to start the preliminary project by the end of this year, but if the freight hub plot cannot be acquired, it will lead to delays in the start of construction.

Although Foster had provided concept renderings and videos of the new stadium earlier this year, the club still had to select the architectural firm through formal tenders. Since the planning permission has not been obtained, the required plots have not been purchased, and the architect has not been formally appointed, the outside world has always believed that the completion by 2030 is the management's overly optimistic goal.

Manchester United estimates the total cost of the new stadium project by £4.2 billion, but claims it will bring huge socio-economic benefits to the local area and beyond: 92,000 jobs, 17,000 new homes and attract an additional 1.8 million visitors each year.

Although the club expects the construction of the stadium to be about £2 billion, industry insiders point out that tent roofs alone may cost £300 million, with a more realistic budget of 3 billion. Freightliner's £400 million asking price could lead to severe overspending from the start.

Manchester United declared that public funds will not be used for the construction of the stadium. The club declined to comment on private business negotiations.