Sir Jim Ratcliffe has confirmed Man Utd ticket price rises. (Image: THE OVERLAP)
has confirmed that will raise ticket prices next season, with an announcement on the decision set for a “couple of weeks”. United supporters have protested against the prospect of a hike for a third consecutive season after the club froze ticket prices for 11 years, but another increase is imminent.
The Red Devils have bumped up the cost of adult tickets by 5 per cent in each of the last two seasons – ironically, two of the worst in the club’s history. A similar increase may apply again due to rising costs, but Sir Jim has suggested that they will implement a structured system with “faithful” fans in mind. And the INEOS boss has confirmed that discussions are ongoing about concession prices after describing the decision to re-sell tickets for £66 this season as a “PR catastrophe”.
United launched plans to place 500 concession tickets that fans had returned back onto the market at face value – worth £66.
However, the move sparked mass backlash and is still the subject of expletive chants months later as supporters watch the team continue to underperform.
Sir Jim insisted that the scheme had since been reverted but couldn’t deny that supporters will have to cough up even more next season, despite United’s likely absence from European competition.
“A little bit, yes, we will. But not a lot. No [we don’t know how much by], not yet. We’ll know in a couple of weeks. It’s not going to be a big amount,” Sir Jim told in an interview for .
“My guidance to the management team is that we have to look after the ‘faithful supporters’ and we have to value the fact the support of those supporters at the game is worth points, which it is, isn’t it?
Man Utd fans have protested against ticket prices. (Image: Getty)
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“The faithful supporters are the supporters who have a season ticket and go to the games.
“The faithful supporter is the guy who has a season ticket and goes to the top six games, but he also goes to see the other games as well.
“He doesn’t just pick the top games and then sell his ticket to somebody else for the other games. In my view, that’s a proper supporter. I don’t know whether you agree with that, but that’s where I am.
“It is worth points. If you look at The Kop, you look at the Stretford End, and that’s worth points, isn’t it? The more intimidating the atmosphere, the louder…
“We saw it in the second half against . I mean, that really lifted the team in the second half, I thought. The fans were fantastic on Sunday.”
The 72-year-old suggested that while “ticketing has to contribute a little extra” to revenue every year, United were assessing ways to limit the discontent over revised prices.
He added: “So the ticket pricing has to be fair and it has to be affordable to local people.
“Some people live in Manchester, but there may be some people who come across from Hong Kong or come up from London or something like that.
“It’s a different group of people in a way, so I think the ticket pricing can be different depending on who we’re targeting.
“And then you’ve got the younger people, etc… Yeah [we’re structuring it], and I think we should do that.”