‘’The (United) board are the ones who’ve made stupid decisions, they’re the ones who’ve put players on stupidly high wages. They’re trying to right their mistakes by wronging the fans.’’
This is the reaction of 21-year-old, lifelong Manchester United fan, Dean Zulu, after the club’s decision to raise season ticket prices by 5 percent for next season.
The increase, which comes for the second year on the trot, will see the cheapest season ticket increase from £551 to £579 and the most expensive from £1007 to £1059.
Alongside this, the club has announced that women’s season ticket prices are set to increase by a third.
Dean was not alone as many other fans were quick to showcase their dismay mere minutes after the club announced the change via email.
As seen below, Manchester United’s cheapest season ticket price comes in as the ninth most expensive among other Premier League clubs.
However, supporters have taken issue with the 5% increase given the wealth of issues surrounding their club.
The news comes in at a somewhat tumultuous time for United – a culmination of shaky form under Erik Ten Hag, the fan’s ongoing ‘Glazers Out’ campaign, and issues arising with both the state of their stadium and the club’s food hygiene ratings.
Christopher Leighton, 37, said: ‘’They get 75,000 people every week and I don’t see any reason why they have to keep raising the season ticket prices, especially when you think of the food hygiene problem that was reported there a few months ago.’’
The club came under fire after they were investigated by Trafford Council last November.
Following reports of undercooked meat, they lost their 5-star food hygiene rating, plummeting all the way to a 1-star rating.
Similarly, fans have taken issue with the decaying state of the stadium, with many taking to social media to report what they believe to be deteriorating conditions – this comes alongside the huge contracts that many players have received.
Season ticket holder Ash Kandola, 21, said: ‘’I think its just distancing the fans, to raise the season ticket price without doing anything tangible to the stadium first is a bit of a joke.
‘’A lot of these players who get these huge contracts don’t prove it. I know we are a bigger club but wherever you are you have to keep proving it. Our best performers this season are the younger players without these crazy contracts.’’
This comes after the news recently broke that Rashford missed training hours after partying in Belfast.
Kandola said: ‘’Rashford is on 300 grand a week and he’s off drinking in Belfast. All the big earners aren’t the big performers, and it shows how backwards the club is going at the minute.’’
Longtime fan Anthony Chamberlain, 35, summed up the feeling amongst much of the fan base: ”I feel that the decision to raise ticket prices for a second consecutive season while the performances on the pitch have been poor is an insult to us supporters.”
Manchester United have been contacted for comment.