Reds do not have grounds for hope

WHEN European football fans visit Manchester in 2028 for the European Championship, they could stay at the new 400-bed hotel at the Etihad, get a ticket for a game at the stadium and then head to a concert at the biggest indoor arena in the UK, all on the same site of which City Football Group are the largest stakeholders.

- TYRONE MARSHALL

By that point, the £300m redevelopment at the Etihad will have been finished for a couple of years, taking the capacity above 60,000, adding the hotel, a new museum, a skywalk and a large fan zone. The Co-op Live arena is due to open next year.

In the summer of 2028, we can only imagine what state Old Trafford will be in. Maybe it will have been redeveloped, possibly even rebuilt. Perhaps the scaffolding will be up and the cranes in place. Or the roof could still leak, the paint faded and its status as the second-best stadium in Greater Manchester reaffirmed.

The fact we have to imagine the state or otherwise of Old Trafford five years from now is why it won't host games in Euro 2028 while the Etihad will. Work is already underway in upgrading City's new home. At United, the plans are on pause while the Glazers pontificate over the future of the club.