In August, Manchester United finished a £50 million overhaul of the first team building at Carrington, and having had time to check it out properly, I have to say, it looks awesome.
A strange thing for a supporter to get excited about? I don’t think so.
Back when Sir Alex Ferguson moved the team from The Cliff Ground to Carrington, it was the start of a new era for the club. Looking back, Fergie even went as far as to say:
“The greatest thing we ever did was move [the training ground] from The Cliff to Carrington.”
Work started on the facility in 1999, and as you may recall, something else pretty momentous happened for Manchester United in 1999, so this is quite a statement from the boss.
But that was a quarter of a century ago (I know, I feel old too), and football moves fast. Compared to the likes of Spurs and City, Man United’s training facility was looking well past its best. After his 2021 return, Ronaldo famously said Carrington was “stopped in time”, and hadn’t changed a bit since he left in 2009.
Clearly then, this upgrade was essential. But it’s not just about letting in more light or a fresh coat of paint, this is a major overhaul designed to change the culture at the club. I’ll explain how below, but if it worked in 99 it can work again in 2025.
I don’t expect it solve all of our problems overnight, but in the medium term, I think this could be the most important £50 million the club has spent in decades. The fact that the project came in on time and on budget is a pretty good omen too!
Built for Progress
The new Carrington has been designed with a clear goal: to make daily life easier and more effective for the players and staff who use it.
The layout has been completely rethought so that everything flows naturally. For example, the gym, pitches, recovery, and dining areas now connect in a logical loop. Less wasted time, smoother routines, and a more pleasant working environment.
The warren of corridors has been done away with n favour of open plan spaces and big windows to keep the place feeling light and spacious. It’s a much more welcoming environment, especially for new players and staff, and especially in a rainy city like Manchester. This improved atmosphere encourages everyone to spend more time onsite, which will naturally lead to better relationships between teammates as well as staff. More scope for conversations, professional and personal. More opportunities for the playing staff and the players themselves to interact with the office staff, and make the club feel like a big family again.
The whole team works around each other, so it’s a functional design that enables a cultural reset.
Performance and Recovery
In terms of what we see on the pitch, the most obvious upgrades are the performance and recovery areas.
The gym is bigger and better equipped with state of the art gear. The pool and hydrotherapy sections have been modernised, and the medical rooms have been expanded and refitted. Players have access to additional features like a cryotherapy chamber, an altitude room, and underwater treadmills. These are all tools that allow the players to train harder to improve performance, and recover faster to reduce injuries.
They even have their own MRI scanner!
How often have we lost players in the past few years because of soft tissue injuries? Having all of these facilities should reduce the injuries that have plagued us in recent times. We have everything in house now, which means less disruption, more consistent and cohesive routines and treatments, and fewer lost training sessions.
A Place to Live and Hang Out
If you ever went to university, or worked in a place big enough to have a kind of common room, you will understand how important a communal space is for building relationships.
We think of Old Trafford as being the home of Manchester United, but the players might only go there once every couple of weeks depending on the schedule. They are at Carrington every day, so it makes sense to make the place feel like home.
Manchester United’s new Carrington looks like an absolute masterpiece. 😮💨 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Hd5E2O7X2E
— 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐚 (@CantonasMind) August 8, 2025
The new Carrington has comfortable communal dining areas, lounges for hanging out and socialising during breaks in the day, or even better, after training has finished. The ping pong table and pool table are nice touches to encourage some after work fun, and again, this will naturally allow for casual conversations between teammates, analysts, medical staff, etc.
The museum staff have curated club memorabilia and past trophies won that adorn the corridors and communal spaces, so the players are surrounded by the history of Manchester United. It’s inspiring, it reminds them who they are playing for, and it instils a success mentality.
And if all that fails there is even an onsite barbers shop, and we all know how much football players care about their hair.
In short, players have more reasons to spend time at Carrington and not rush straight off after training.
Small Innovations that Make a Big Difference
It’s not just the big ticket items that make me excited about the new Carrington, it’s the small innovations too.
For example, they have installed smart hydration tracking urinals. Feel free to laugh, but these give players instant feedback about their hydration levels, so the player can address even minor levels of dehydration immediately.
There are sleep pods to help any player who wants to fully switch off between sessions. Players are parents of young kids, for example, so these could be a Godsend during sleep training. Even without external circumstances, structured downtime can be the difference between being fresh on gameday and not.
It’s interesting to see how many of the facilities installed can give the players and coaches data points too. More than ever before. They can do a lot with this information. From GPS trackers in training areas to reaction drills on the new F1 style simulator, Carrington captures more information than ever before about how players move, recover, eat, drink, and highlight where marginal gains can be found.
Individually these things might not make a dent, but collectively, they add up to a fresher, healthier, happier, fitter, and smarter team.
Long Term Impact
Look, I’m not saying the new Carrington is going to win us the league this season, buildings don’t win you trophies. However, they do create an environment in which the players can thrive, and go on to win you trophies.
With the infrastructure issues that used to cause issues no longer an obstacle, we should see fewer injuries, faster recoveries, a happier team of players who are in better condition and really feel like a unit, and who really want to fight for the club.
That does transfer onto the pitch and win you trophies.
The impact of the new Carrington will take a bit of time to be felt, perhaps a year or two, but as new players join and see the elite level facilities, the team should gradually develop into something really quite exciting.
It bodes well for our long term future. We are now set up to expand our sports science and analytics department as the design has left space for growth. This sort of forward planning hasn’t always been United’s strong suite so it’s encouraging to see.
I think the symbolism is also important here. The INEOS era is supposed to be run differently, and the fact that this project went without a hitch and delivered excellent results is evidence that this is happening. It shows competence. Agents and players notice that stuff.
So yes, I am excited about the new Carrington building, because Carrington is at the heart of the club, and it looks to be beating very strong indeed.