SUMMARY
- Manchester United suffers further embarrassment after 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in their home ground.
- During the match, the Old Trafford roof started leaking and it flooded the stands.
It was a dismal outing for Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United on Sunday as they took on Arsenal at Old Trafford. With the 2023-24 season almost over, it was a chance for Manchester United to salvage something out of what has been a very disappointing season. However, while Erik ten Hag’s side succumbed to yet another defeat, it wasn’t the biggest talking point of the game.
As Manchester United took on Arsenal at their iconic Old Trafford stadium, the skies opened up and rained heavily. While it was a rather typical weather in Manchester, the heavy downpour exposed the crumbling and saddening state of the mighty Old Trafford. The 114-year-old stadium was unable to contain the rain as water continued to leak from the stadium’s roof.
😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/kv7ZHjrU67
— 𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗴’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘀 ✍🏼🇳🇱 (@TenHagBall_) May 12, 2024
Water also flowed from the sewage beneath the chairs, making it difficult for the fans who came to attend the game. Shockingly, the away dressing room was also affected by the rains as Arsenal’s dressing room was left flooded. In a rather ironic way, the leaking Old Trafford summarized how the season has been for Manchester United.
The Manchester United away dressing room at Old Trafford yesterday. 🌧️pic.twitter.com/mLQywOxTLg
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 13, 2024
There have been talks for a long time about renovating the Old Trafford. The stadium hasn’t undergone any renovation work for the last 18 years. The club’s new owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has emphasized renovating the stadium and also set up the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force. However, the expected time of completion of the renovation works hasn’t been declared yet.
Manchester United’s infrastructural woes continue despite a $6 billion valuation
The abysmal condition of Manchester United’s Old Trafford doesn’t really reflect the club’s valuation. As revealed by Sportico recently, Manchester United is the most valuable soccer club in the world with a valuation of $6.2 billion. Real Madrid comes second in the list with a valuation of $6.06 billion, while FC Barcelona ranks third with a $5.28 billion valuation.
Manchester United ranked as the most valuable football club in the world by @Sportico at $6.2bn. This figure is $1bn more than Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s club valuation.
Six of the top 10 are from the EPL. Los Angeles FC ($1.15bn) make the top 15. Inter Miami ($1.02bn) rank 18th.💰 pic.twitter.com/oLh6MBUrkl
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) May 8, 2024
Despite an impressive revenue stream and a whopping valuation, the deteriorating condition of Manchester United’s infrastructure paints the club in a rather bad picture. The condition of the club was first exposed by Cristiano Ronaldo in his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan back in 2022. While it has been almost two years since the interview, Ronaldo’s words have fallen on deaf ears as nothing seems to have changed at the club.
Manchester United suffered their 14th league defeat against Arsenal
The 2023-24 season continued to take a turn for the worst for Manchester United as Erik ten Hag’s side was handed their 14th league defeat of the season by Arsenal. In what was a must-win match for Arsenal to continue to fight for the Premier League, Leandro Trossard’s solitary goal in the 20th minute sealed the three points for Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal.
Full-Time:
Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal.❌ Manchester United have now lost 14 games in a single Premier League season for the first time in Premier League History. #MUNARS #CountryFmSports pic.twitter.com/UZFIL05jYN
— 87.6 Country Radio (@CountryRadio87) May 12, 2024
After what was their 14th defeat, Erik ten Hag once again found himself at the helm of yet another negative record for Manchester United. Under the Dutch coach, United surpassed the record of 13 defeats in a single league season which came way back in the 1989-90 season. With two league games still remaining, the season could get even worse for Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.