Manchester United chiefs are planning to increase the capacity of their stadium by over 16%.
The current Old Trafford capacity is 75,635, but, according to plans reported by the Daily Mail, that could be increased to 88,000.
Per the Daily Mail, United are “seriously considering” the expansion, which would likely involve an extra 7,500 new seats in the Sir Bobby Charlton stand, as well as extensions in two of the corners.
Old Trafford is currently Europe’s ninth largest football stadium, based on capacity.
Barcelona’s Camp Nou – housing 99,354 spectators – is the biggest and will remain as such, while London’s 90,000-seater Wembley Stadium will retain its position at no.2.
However, a new capacity of 88,000 would see Old Trafford move ahead of Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Milan’s San Siro, Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, the Stade de France, Dortmund’s Signal Idun Park and Real Madrid’s famous Santiago Bernabeu.
United’s stadium is already significantly bigger than all of their domestic rivals’. Arsenal’s 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium is currently the closest challenger in the Premier League, although that will be demoted into second place once Tottenham Hotspur’s new ground is built with a capacity of 61,000.