Lord Norman Foster, the man chosen to design Manchester United’s new stadium and a personal friend of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has been enlisted to work on another of Europe’s most famous stadiums.
Foster’s vision for a 100,000-seater stadium to replace Old Trafford and act as the “Wembley of the North” was unveiled in March.
The project is likely to cost in the region of £2bn and is judderingly ambitious. Indeed, one executive of a Premier League club has described the plans to UIF as “quixotic” and unlikely ever to see the light of day.
Yes, there are countless hurdles to clear – land ownership, public funding, access to debt and so on – but Manchester United are one of the few clubs in the world capable of even conceiving such a design.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is acutely aware that it would transform the club financially and spiritually. The Ineos billionaire, now a tax exile in Monaco but born seven miles away from Old Trafford, sees it as his legacy.
United’s most recent set of accounts, which cover Ratcliffe’s first full season as the club’s single largest individual shareholder, revealed record matchday revenue of £160m, the highest in England.
At a 100,000-seater stadium, they are expected to reach £250m across the course of a comparable season, which would utterly dwarf any other domestic rival. Globally, only Real Madrid would come close.
But when UIF has spoken to architects like Dan Meis, who designed Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, they have urged United not to see the project solely through the prism of finance.
Matchday income & capacity
Credit: Adam Williams/United in Focus/GRV Media
The aesthetics of Foster’s design – a vast canvassed structure with three spires, with the aim to make the venue the Eiffel Tower of Northern England – have also been questioned by some.
“This iconic thing,” said Meis, “the feeling it needs to be something memorable in the way of the towers suggested at Man United… For me, what’s iconic is the experience of a true English football ground.”
The proof will be in the pudding, however, and perhaps the best indicator of what United’s new stadium will look and feel like is in Foster’s work elsewhere.
And as it happens, the 90-year-old Pritzker Prize-winning designer is about to begin work on one of his biggest projects yet.
Norman Foster’s firm set to design Milan’s new San Siro
Away from stadiums, Foster & Partners, have designed landmarks such as London’s Gherkin skyscraper, Berlin’s Reichstag dome and Apple’s headquarters, Apple Park.
In sport, Foster has worked on Wembley Stadium, the revamped Camp Nou and 2022 Qatar World Cup final venue Lusail Stadium.
And as well as United’s new home ground, two more European giants have now announced that Foster & Partners will work on building them a new stadium.
Official Statement: Collaboration with Foster + Partners and MANICA for the new Milan stadium
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 23, 2025
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In a joint statement, AC Milan and Inter Milan have confirmed that Foster’s firm will work alongside Manica to design a 71,500-seater stadium on the site of the iconic San Siro.
meets the highest standards of innovation, comfort, and sustainability, and will also stand out as an architectural landmark.
“The new venue, part of an urban regeneration project covering approximately 281,000 square meters and focused on innovation and sustainability, will have a capacity of 71,500 seats and will offer an unparalleled atmosphere. It will feature two large tiers with an incline designed to ensure optimal visibility from every section. It will also meet the highest accessibility standards, providing dedicated experiences for all fans and offering sections with affordable pricing.“
Inter and AC Milan’s joint statement
Subject to the acquisition of a crucial plot of land near the San Siro site, the project is due to cost in excess of £1bn.
Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
That comes after Foster spoke for the first time about the Old Trafford 2.0 masterplan for the first time since its inception.
“The fan base is incredible,” Foster told Sky News. “It’s a galvanising project… and so many things can naturally ride on the back of that sporting, emblematic kind of team.”
“Manchester United is different and therefore its stadium’s going to be different… and better, of course.”
Where will Man United’s new stadium rank among the most expensive of all time?
It’s a truism that sports stadiums and indeed most major infrastructure builds almost always come in late and over budget.
United’s new stadium will cost a principal £2bn, the Ratcliffe regime say, though whether that includes the cost of buying the adjacent freightliner terminal crucial to the project is not clear.
And when the debt United use to fund the construction matures too, the total £2bn figure will increase significantly with interest.
StadiumCost (adjusted for inflation)LocationOpenedSoFi Stadium$5.5bnCalifornia, USA2020New Man United Stadium$2.67bnManchester, UK?MetLife Stadium$1.99bnNew Jersey, USA2010Allegiant Stadium$1.90bnNevada, USA2020Wembley Stadium$1.85bnLondon, UK2007Yankee Stadium$1.79bnNew York, USA2009AT&T Stadium$1.79bnTexas, USA2009Mercedes-Benz Stadium$1.56bnAtlanta, USA2017Singapore National Stadium$1.41bnKallang, Singapore2014Tottenham Hotspur Stadium$1.33bnLondon, England2019Optus Stadium$1.17bnPerth, Australia2017SOURCE: Structural Repairs
Global supply chain issues have made the costs of stadium builds exponentially more expensive in recent years, while the kinds of interest rates that Tottenham, for example, used to build their stadium are simply no longer available.
Previously, the Glazer family lobbied for a central fund in both Project Big Picture and European Super League from which clubs could draw funds for infrastructure projects.