MANCHESTER UNITED have announced a major change to Old Trafford that will see fans forced out of their seats.
The Old Trafford club announced on Monday that season ticket prices would increase again, though the cost for U16s would be frozen.
In a further blow to supporters, however, the announcement confirmed fans with season tickets right behind the dugouts at Old Trafford will have to move to make way for a VIP hospitality area.
Chelsea have introduced a similar policy at Stamford Bridge, with fans paying a minimum of £6,000 per ticket for the privilege.
The club confirmed: “Some of the general admission tickets directly adjacent to the home and away dugouts will be converted to hospitality seats, reflecting the high value of this unique location.
“We appreciate the disruption this will cause those fans who currently sit there and we will be contacting them individually to ensure a suitable alternative seat is found.”
These prize seats, offering some of the best seats in the house at Old Trafford, regularly housed 90s cult hero Angus ‘Statto’ Loughran.
The statistician shot to fame on BBC Two show Fantasy Football League in the 1990s.
Renowned for wearing a dressing gown and pyjamas as he provided facts and figures on guests’ fantasy football team, Statto quickly became a fan favourite.
A Man Utd season ticket holder and close friend or Sir Alex Ferguson, he could frequently be spotted chatting with the legendary Man Utd boss during his time in charge.
Introducing these new hospitality seats was one of a number of changes announced by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s regime on Monday, alongside the confirmation that ticket prices would increase by five per cent for a third consecutive year.
The price rise comes despite the Manchester United Supporters Trust [MUST] calling for him to NOT ramp prices up any further.
The rise in prices has prompted a wave of protests in recent weeks, with thousands taking to the streets earlier this month to march against the way the club is “slowly dying before our eyes”.
Chief executive Omar Berrada said on Monday: “We understand that any price rise is unwelcome, especially during a period of underperformance on the pitch, and we listened carefully to the strong arguments put forward by the FAB [Fan Advisory Board] in favour of a freeze.
“However, the club has decided that it would not be right to keep prices unchanged while costs rise and the club continues to face financial issues.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been forced to drastically cut costs since completing a £1.3billion takeover, and said just last week that the club would have run out of money “by Christmas” without him pumping money into the club and cutting costs too.
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