Manchester United has made the decision to house the men’s team while their facilities are being renovated by moving their women’s team into temporary buildings at the training facility.
Early this month, United said that construction has started on a £50 million renovation project for the men’s first team complex at Carrington.
While the men’s first team facility is being refurbished, Erik ten Hag’s players will be relocated to the present building that is used by the women’s and academy teams. The building work is anticipated to run for the entirety of the next season.
The move of the women’s team has reportedly left several players and officials “disappointed,” according to The Guardian.
The decision “added to a growing sense that the women’s team are not perceived as a priority within the club,” a source connected to the team reportedly told the newspaper.
Manchester United spent £10m on a state-of-the-art building for the women’s and academy sides
The report claims that the portable buildings will include changing rooms, team meeting rooms and communal areas for the women’s squad.
United are said to have considered multiple options for relocating the women’s team but believe the decision to stay at Carrington is the best solution as the players will still have access to better pitches and off-field facilities.
Last year, United opened the £10 million state-of-the-art building for the women’s and academy sides.
In a statement announcing the £50m project this month, United warned: ‘Temporary adaptations will be made to the rest of the Carrington site to ensure players and staff from all our teams can continue to operate successfully next season.’
Speaking last week, United’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who completed his £1.3 billion partial takeover in February, admitted that his focus has been more on improving the men’s side after their poor Premier League campaign in which they finished eighth.
“With the women’s team, we haven’t gone into that level of detail yet,” he said to Bloomberg.
“For the first six months, we pretty much dedicated our attention to solving the problems with the first team.”
The United women’s team placed sixth in the Women’s Super League and won the FA Cup the previous season.
Mary Earps, who is expected to sign with Paris Saint-Germain and become the best paid female goalkeeper in global football, is expected to leave United, though.