The club’s finances have been in the spotlight after co-owner Jim Ratcliffe claimed they would be ‘bust at Christmas’ if not for cuts and redundancies

In a week where the countdown clock was started on Old Trafford as we know it, Manchester United’s historical home reminded us that when the football is good it remains the perfect companion.

Manchester United plan to build a new two billion pound ($2.59 billion) 100,000-seat stadium that will be the biggest in Britain, next to the existing Old Trafford, the club announced on Tuesday.

"New Trafford" is the brainchild of Jim Ratcliffe, Manchester United's minority shareholder, who, only earlier this week, was trying to justify redundancies and other backroom cost savings, such as cutting free staff lunches, by claiming the club was at risk of going "bust" by Christmas.