Man Utd have been labelled ‘out of touch’ as they consider potentially charging fans up to £4,000 at their new stadium.
As per the Daily Mail, United are exploring a controversial Personal Seat Licence (PSL) system for their proposed 100,000-capacity stadium, which could cost fans up to £4,000 just for the right to buy a season ticket.
This US style plan would grant fans first refusal on their seat for 30 years, but failure to purchase a season ticket could result in losing the licence.
United officials say they are only exploring the idea, with no final decisions made.
The new stadium, is part of a £2bn+ project led by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group, with the hope of opening it for 2031-32 season, with ambitions to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup Final.
The club is seeking government funding for infrastructure but will finance the stadium independently.
Discussions with fans, including focus groups in July, indicate the PSL is one of several ticket pricing options under consideration, though it faces potential opposition. And if this level of backlash to it on social media is anything to go by, it makes the final decision all the more risky.
United’s season tickets for the 2025/26 season cost £608-£1,121, up by 5%, although remains unchanged for under 16s.
Majority of NFL franchises have some sort of PSL system in place. At the San Francisco 49ers are thought to have seat licenses of up to £60,000, with fans paying instalments.
Reports in 2017 said that Los Angeles Rams, owned by Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, charged up to £166,000 for PSLs, with about 20% of the new stadium’s capacity is expected to be corporate seating.
🚨Manchester United are considering introducing a Personal Seat Licence system at their new stadium
🔴Fans would be charged £4,000 – with season ticket cost on top
⚫️Club would be first in PL
🔴Officials say move ‘hypothetical’ & part of consultationhttps://t.co/XKIec5Epef— Mike Keegan (@MikeKeegan_DM) July 24, 2025
The FSA say: “That this was even allowed to be suggested shows how out of touch football’s top brass really are.”
FC United of Manchester meanwhile said: “Another one straight from the Glazernomics playbook. Is Jim Ratcliffe just another billionaire cashing in on fans while pretending to care?
“£4,000 just for the right to buy a season ticket? Rich owners once again ripping off loyal supporters. #AgainstModernFootball
Kieran Maguire simply wrote: “#GlazerNomics”
Man Utd have been labelled ‘out of touch’ as they consider charging fans up to £4,000 at new stadium, here’s the Twitter reaction…
@Oconnorharry19: As soon as I was old enough I got a season ticket, something I’d wanted my whole life. I’m now resigned to the fact that at some point over the next few years I’ll probably have my ticket taken off me or be priced out of it 👎👎👎
@DKay_99: I’ll pass lads, the footballs shite enough.
@cjhhhh21: Americans are an absolute cancer on the game of football, every negative aspect of the game can be traced back to Americans, yet everyone was crying when the Saudis took over little old Newcastle United
@thecoldend: £4000 seat licence. If this happens its the end of watching football live at the top end of the game for the majority of people. Crazy Idea!
@Zaka_No_7: Have a day off. This would be absolutely scandalous. I know football is no longer what it was but this would be the final nail in the coffin. Utterly calamitous! Stop ‘americanising’ our fucking sport!
@garybennett12: Big Jim the local lad done good, he gets it and wants to put the Manchester back in Manchester United. Get fucked ✌️
@bornatotter: Superb. I hope loads of Premier League clubs do this. Send more and more proper fans out searching for the soul of the game. They will get a warm welcome down here at the grass roots.
@SmnLlyd5: This, for me, is every bit as cynical as the Super League betrayal. It’s another calculated push to edge out fans who’ve followed the club for generations. Same greed, same contempt – just a different means of doing it. Football authorities need to stop this.
@memototurner: No matter what team you support the writing is truly on the wall. Im lucky to have had some amazing times following the Reds but I truly believe this experience is going to be lost to the working class young folk of Nottingham. Hopefully I’m wrong #nffc
@UTDPatron: Local lad Jim Ratcliffe gets it, he’s British and he’s putting the Manchester back into Manchester United.
@Jophes86: This is fucking outrageous. All supporters groups should work against this, because if it’s introduced at one club then it’ll happen everywhere
@Jayw1983_: Games going to eat itself; the normal working class will be priced out. The rich will get bored, leaving clubs in all sorts of debt. It will happen one day. On pitch, the games are getting more robotic by the year anyway. It’s shit to watch, if people are honest.
@DamanPeel: A seat license? But the ticket office keep telling everyone that they’re in dispute with that we don’t own the season tickets we pay for, they’re just “loaned” to supporters. So where does a license fit in then? Incredible greed.
@TonyCoffey15: Local lad, Jim Ratcliffe strikes again, it’s all about money with him, he’s pricing ordinary united fans out of the club, it’ll be a big stadium full of tourists with no atmosphere.
@mwmorris1997: If this happens…. Then I’ll actually be done with the club !!! Ripping off and taking the piss out of true & loyal die hard matchgoing supporters who’ve always been there through thick and thin But local lad Jimbo gets it, doesn’t he 🚮
@Jack___16: 40% hospitality rumoured last week and now this – sounds terrible. ‘Hypothetical’ thrown in for reassurance 🙄. My biggest concern with the new stadium was that it would kill the atmosphere and the fans matchday experience – looks like my fear of that is happening.
@maxmufc7: So a “Personal Seat Licence” which is another name for a Season Ticket used in America. Season tickets are already expensive so asking the same loyal fans to pay £4K in the new stadium is outrageous. Glazers/Ineos pricing loyal fans out t
By “hypothetical” they mean “We’re throwing it out there to see how strong opposition is and whether we’ll get away with it”. Every inch of that new stadium will be designed to squeeze maximum revenue out of matchgoers. No money spinning scam is off the table at this point. https://t.co/EOA4cqPgLO
— Carly Lyes (@Carly_Lyes) July 24, 2025
