Qatar wants to invest £1 billion in Manchester United

The name Old Trafford may be a thing of the past in the near future.

Qatar Airways, the Middle East's leading airline, wants to buy the naming rights to Manchester United's new stadium for 10 years, marking a strategic move by the club to increase its influence at the Premier League club.

This is the move that Emirates (UAE) airline used when Arsenal was preparing to build a new stadium to replace Highbury. According to The Times , the £1 billion investment from Qatar Airways could help MU solve many financial problems.

Last week, Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe made headlines when he announced plans to demolish Old Trafford and build a new 100,000-seat stadium. The current Old Trafford stadium has been in operation since 1910 but is facing a number of problems and needs to be modernised to meet the standards of 21st century football.

The Red Devils are expected to spend around £2bn and take around five years to complete the new stadium. In addition to providing one of the most modern stadiums in the world, the project is also expected to create 92,000 jobs and boost economic growth for the area.

This project has a lot of potential, but what worries fans the most is that the team may have to sacrifice the transfer budget. In other words, MU will spend frugally and will hardly be able to welcome blockbuster contracts in the near future.

If an agreement is reached with the Qataris, MU’s financial worries will be alleviated. However, the legendary Old Trafford name could be temporarily replaced by a Qatari brand for the next decade. This will certainly cause a lot of debate among the “Red Devils” fan community.

Bruno Fernandes shined on the day MU won big against Leicester. In the early morning of March 17, Bruno scored 1 goal and 2 assists to help MU defeat host Leicester 3-0 in round 29 of the Premier League.