“ON the ground floor there were no windows. It felt like you were in a hospital in the basement. It was a slightly gloomy place, a gloomy rabbit warren.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first impressions of Carrington gave him no illusions as to what one of his first tasks should be if he succeeded in buying into Manchester United.
Two years on, Ratcliffe is describing those initial thoughts at the re-opening of the club’s revamped training ground. He has invested £50m in the upgrades. The work took 12 months and was “on time and within budget”.
“Manchester United is one of the most recognised brands in the world. The club has to compete at the highest level,” he said. “A world-class training facility won’t take us to that position alone but one of the key ingredients is a modern facility. Now we have one.”
On Friday the media were invited in for a look. Let’s start with the aspects you wouldn’t expect.
In the corner of the players’ canteen, now huge and, like most of the building, light and open-plan, is the familiar sight of a red, white and blue barber’s pole.
United’s squad was canvassed about what they wanted from a training ground. There were so many suggestions, in the end, Ratcliffe had to tell them to stop.
But a barber’s area was included. The club doesn’t supply the barber – players are responsible for bringing them in when needed. Trimmings of brown hair suggested it had been in use shortly before the media tour.
“Not to throw any names out but he’s over there,” laughed goalkeeper Tom Heaton pointing at defender Diogo Dalot.
“He would have been odds-on to have the first haircut.”
A barber in a training ground seems odd, but elite players often have their hair cut close to games. Having the availability of this on-site has the capacity to reduce stress.
Next to the barber’s room is a slightly bigger area that houses a Formula 1 simulator. The player log suggested Mason Mount and Ayden Heaven were among those to take early advantage of that.
Sir Alex Ferguson started the formal proceedings of the official opening by unveiling a plaque to beloved former receptionist Kath Phipps in the entrance area that was her domain from Carrington first opening in 2000 until not long before her death in December 2024.
The legendary manager approved of the open-plan aspect of the players area as it encouraged interaction.
And this is one of the key components. Large open-plan areas with lots of natural light to create an uplifting environment.
Head coach Ruben Amorim has his own office but chief executive Omar Berrada does not, though one can swiftly be made available should it be required.
The boardroom has windows -but a heavy curtain should it be required when matters of importance and secrecy are being discussed. Coaches, analysts, recruitment staff, scouting and club leadership work in the same area to make the exchange of information easier.
The ‘cinema’ room where players are shown slides and replays as part of pre-match preparation and post-match debriefs has seats with Italian leather, ensuring they will be comfortable even on days when what they are watching is not.
On the ground floor – which now definitely looks like an elite sporting environment and not nearby Wythenshawe Hospital – staff sit in the ‘Hub’ looking out on the first team gym. They can measure data in real time and load it on to big screens next to a bank of bikes to advise players of their physical condition and performance.
If there is a Big Brother element to this, then what about ‘smart urinals’ which offer instant analysis around hydration.
In the first-team dressing room – which still has allocated spaces for the unwanted quartet of Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Tyrrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho – each player has a touchscreen where individual messages can be sent by the coaches or sports science team and routines for the day can be outlined.
Next to that is a treatment room containing nine beds, with windows looking out on to the first-team training pitches. It could be argued a professional athlete watching colleagues do something they are prevented from being able to might not be ideal but the positives outweigh the negatives according to those who are paid to know such things.
There are MRI, CT and whole body scanners – an entire medical could be conducted at Carrington now, although there was no sign of impending new signing Benajmin Sesko on Friday.
There are four pools – one to swim in, a cold plunge, hot plunge and another with an underwater treadmill, the depth of which can be adjusted as required. The sauna and steam room in the same area have been made much bigger.
Between the gym and the pool area is a ‘high altitude room’ containing bikes and rowing machines in which the oxygen levels can be adjusted.
The first team go right when they walk though the players’ entrance. Youngsters making the transition to the seniors go left, to their own dressing room, saving them from traipsing across from the academy building on the other side of the complex for training.
Not everything is quite complete.
The area housing temporary structures that last season were home to the women’s team – who have returned to the building created for them now the men’s first team don’t need it – will be turned into a padel court. Four sleeping pods are due to be installed, while there will also be an area for red light therapy and also dry flotation tanks.
United want to encourage players to stay at the training ground longer. The days of arriving at 10 and leaving at 12 are long gone.
In his damning critique of his old club in 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo claimed United was “stuck in time” and “nothing had changed”. It certainly has now.
Is this building Ronaldo’s legacy, the legendary United and Real Madrid star’s close friend and international colleague Dalot was asked?
“I’m sure he would love it if he was able to see it,” he said.
“Overall, I think the message was clear, that this club deserved even more. All credit to Sir Jim and his team. They did a fantastic job.”
