Manchester United will increase season ticket prices in the latest measure to try and grow the club’s revenues.
Prices will rise by around five per cent for the 2025-26 season, for an average increase of £2.50 ($3.25) per ticket per game. There will be a price freeze for season ticket holders under the age of 16.
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It will mark the third successive year United have increased season ticket prices after 11 consecutive seasons of freezes, after also introducing a five per cent increase for their 2023-24 and 2024-25 season tickets.
United announced a mid-season ticket price hike in November that involved the removal of concessions for children and over-65s, with all remaining tickets for home games during the 2024-25 campaign priced at £66 each whatever the age of the person buying them. Fans have been worried about the prospect of a further steep rise in recent months, with the previous increase branded “offensive” by the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) at the time.
Sources with knowledge of the plans, speaking with the condition of anonymity, have told The Athletic that the concessions will be reinstated for younger and older fans, but that there will be further changes to the configuration of some seats inside Old Trafford.
Seats in the area immediately around the dugouts will be converted to hospitality and attract a premium price — a move similar to Barcelona and Chelsea who charge extra for fans who sit closest to the benches.
Fans have protested against rising ticket prices (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
For non-season ticket holders, matches will be categorised into different price bands according to the opposition, with an increased cost of tickets for these match-by-match purchases. Concessions will be maintained.
There will also be a small change to the minimum usage of season tickets, increasing from 15 to 16 of the 19 Premier League games. The age at which the senior discount is applied will match the state pension age, 66. Fans aged 66 or over will receive a 25 per cent discount.
United have met their Fans’ Advisory Board (FAB) and Fans Forum, with the FAB strongly advocating for the club to freeze ticket prices which they felt was justified in the current economic climate.
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The FAB said: “While we did not get the freeze we argued for, we are relieved that the club was persuaded to limit the increases to the same percentage rise as recent seasons, and we are pleased they froze prices for our youngest fans.
“We also shared our concerns over policy changes and advised against any immediate changes without consultation including those to minimum usage, match categorisation, concessions and relocations. However, we welcome the club’s renewed commitment not to make any such future changes without consultation with fans including through MUST, FAB and the Fans’ Forum.
“We acknowledge that the senior leadership of the club, including Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Omar Berrada, made themselves available throughout the process and the club were well informed of fans’ feelings when making their decisions.”
MUST acknowledged “the need for everyone to pull together to get the club out of the very difficult position it finds itself in” but remain critical of a number of measures that have been announced.
A statement read: “We do note that the scale of the headline increase is less than many feared and we believe the enormous amounts of dialogue that fans groups have had with the club, alongside the public pressure exerted through the media and various protests, helped restrain the increase.
“However the new match categorisation model for non season ticket holders is a source of major concern with fans facing additional price increases for higher-demand games. We call for a strict cap on the number of games that will be placed in the higher price categories with the vast majority of games remaining at the base price level.
“We also need to work to understand the detailed impacts of the seat moves and terms and conditions changes being made. In particular, we fail to see any justification for the increase in season ticket holder minimum usage requirement. The devil is so often in the detail, and any changes of this kind should always be carried out with full consultation with those affected.”
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The ticket price alterations are the latest measures driven by INEOS, United’s co-owners, to try and address the club’s financial issues.
United, who remain majority-owned by the Glazer family, have posted five consecutive full-year losses, with their second-quarter results published last month revealing a £26.3m loss for the 2024-25 season to date.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the minority shareholder who took control of United’s operations last year, has implemented a range of cost-cutting measures, including confirmation in February of up to 200 expected redundancies on top of the 250 redundancies announced last summer.
Changes to the provision of food for employees were also announced with the staff canteen at Old Trafford set to close, and it was recently confirmed that United’s London office will have a reduced staff going forward.
United fans have continued to vent their frustration at the club’s hierarchy this season, with the 1958 supporters’ group calling on fans to wear black to symbolise how the club is “slowly dying” ahead of the protest against the Glazer family’s ownership that took place before the Premier League game with Arsenal earlier this month.
The ticket price increase follows the club’s announcement last week of plans for a new 100,000-capacity stadium which it is estimated will cost more than £2bn to build.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
