Liverpool and Manchester United are the two biggest clubs in England. Whether fan base or trophy cabinet is your measure of choice, it’s impossible to avoid that conclusion.
It seems strange, then, that neither Anfield nor Old Trafford will be hosting any matches when Euro 2028 comes to the UK and Ireland. But the homes of Liverpool and Manchester United have both been left off a final 10-strong list — despite Everton’s under-construction Bramley-Moore Dock making the cut.
For Liverpool, the snub is nothing more than a technicality. FSG have known for a while that Anfield will not host any Euro 2028 fixtures, with the ground not even included on the original longlist: that’s because the pitch dimensions do not meet UEFA standards.
There’s a case to be made that pitches should be a standard size across the tournament for the sake of integrity, although UEFA obviously does not insist upon this in the Champions League, with Liverpool allowed to play matches at home. All in all, it seems like an own goal from Europe’s governing body, with Anfield among the most historic venues in the country — and also among the best, following multiple FSG redevelopments of the ground.
It’s a rather more curious situation at Manchester United. Old Trafford did feature on an initial list of 14 stadia, but has been culled in the final announcement.
According to the Manchester Evening News, it was Manchester United’s decision to withdraw Old Trafford from the running. Discussions with the FA yielded the conclusion that the club could not guarantee the stadium would be fit to host matches in 2028, given the possibility of redevelopment.
In one sense, that must be music to the ears of Manchester United fans. Old Trafford has seen no real modernization at all under the Glazers — even the vague prospect that there could be some activity five years from now is progress.
But everything is more or less on hold as the club’s sale process drags on. Manchester United still looks no closer to changing hands, and in the meantime there is a tangible sense of stagnation on and off the pitch.
The Mail reports a dilemma over a leaky roof in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand at Old Trafford. Club officials know that it needs replacing, but are not keen to shut off a significant part of the ground and lose out on matchday revenue during the season in order to fix it. Significantly, they are also ‘reluctant to commit to a costly roof replacement’ without knowing the outcome of the takeover.
New owners would surely make Old Trafford a priority, choosing to redevelop or even rebuild. Yet if the Manchester United hierarchy believes such a project could run into the summer of 2028, to the extent that it cannot make guarantees around the Euros, that cannot bode well for a swift conclusion to the ownership saga.
In that respect, Liverpool surely has to be thankful for FSG. Far from the perfect owners, the Americans at least prevented a soap opera developing after reports that the club was ‘for sale’ first broke around a year ago. Senior figures quickly clarified that this was merely a search for investment, and a new minority partner has now been taken on with minimal fuss.
Even more importantly, FSG have also consistently got it right with Anfield. It opted to keep the club at its historic home and has since twice funded significant expansions.
The latest has been delayed due to problems with a contractor entering administration, but it should still be finished before long, raising the Anfield capacity to 61,000. Meanwhile, Liverpool has a state-of-the-art training center, having made the move from Melwood (later buying it back for the women’s team).
Manchester United has spent far more than Liverpool in transfer fees over the last decade, but FSG’s commitment to infrastructure and smart management has yielded far more silverware. It’s a stark comparison.
Both grounds will miss out on Euro 2028. But Liverpool’s pitch size is worlds apart from Manchester United’s leaky roof, showing two clubs going in different directions.
