F1 simulator, barbers and smart urinals – inside Manchester United's £50m training ground

Telegraph

17 hours ago

Tom Heaton starts chuckling when asked if any of the Manchester United squad have used the new barbers at the club's drastically remodelled training ground. 'Not to throw anyone under the bus but he's over there,' said the United goalkeeper, smiling, as he nodded in the direction of team-mate Diogo Dalot. 'He was first in. He'd have been odds-on favourite to have his hair cut first as well!'
Next door to the barbers – where United's players can now invite their hairdressers to cut their locks and which can hardly be missed given the classic blue, red and white rotating pole at its entrance – is a Formula 1 simulator.
Defender Ayden Heaven is currently top of the leaderboard with a time of 1:15:721, although Mason Mount evidently has some catching up to do. The England midfielder could only post 1:44:715.
Small things, maybe, but at a time when Ruben Amorim has strived to root out the toxic culture that had lingered for too long at the club and foster a new culture of togetherness and unity, they are considered important enhancements all the same.
Pop into the toilets and the smart urinals can measure if one of Amorim's players is dehydrated or not.
Over in the main medical room there are MRI and CT scanners and even a state of the art DEXA scanner, which can provide a complete breakdown of a player's body composition in just seven minutes right down to their bone mineral density and the difference between their right and left limbs, which will be tracked year on year.
Outside, just across from the players' entrance, there are plans to build a new padel court at the squad's behest.
Welcome to United's revamped Carrington training base, which has undergone a dramatic £50m makeover over the past 12 months that has transformed what co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe likened to a 'a gloomy rabbit warren' and a 'hospital in the basement' into an inspiring new environment.
When Cristiano Ronaldo walked back through United's doors in 2021, 12 years after leaving Old Trafford for Real Madrid in a then world record £80m move, the five-time World Player of the Year was shocked by what he encountered. 'Nothing had changed,' Ronaldo said. 'Not only the pool – the jacuzzi, even the gym, the kitchen, the chefs, whom I appreciate – lovely people. They stopped in time. It surprised me a lot.
'I thought I would see other things, technologies and infrastructure. Unfortunately, there was a lot of what I used to see at 21, 22 and 23 years old. I haven't seen an evolution at the club. Progress is zero. You have to tear it down and rebuild it.'
United have not torn down the old Carrington but they have overhauled it to the extent that Ronaldo may no longer recognise the place. Ratcliffe has never been one to sugar-coat the club's problems and when he first toured Carrington when buying a minority stake from the Glazers, the petrochemicals billionaire quickly came to share Ronaldo's sentiments.
'It was leading edge I am sure in 2000 but 25 years later it wasn't at the level it needed to be for one of the top four or five clubs in the world,' Ratcliffe said at the formal opening of the much changed facility on Friday. 'Downstairs, there weren't many windows on the ground floor. It felt like you were in a hospital in the basement. It was a gloomy rabbit warren.
'It was the first decision when we arrived in the first quarter of 2024 – to invest in this training facility. Now it is open, fresh, modern. It encourages interaction. This is what we needed.
'This is one of the most recognised brands in the world. It stands shoulder to shoulder with Coca-Cola and Apple. The club has to compete at the highest level that is appropriate to the size and history of the club. While a world-class training facility won't take us to that position alone, it is one of the key ingredients. Now we have one.'
Touring the facility, the changes smack you in the face. Open spaces with natural light pouring in have replaced the labyrinth of dark, dingy rooms and corridors and a keen emphasis has been placed on 'flows' to ensure that all areas of the training base connect seamlessly and are tailored to the needs of the players and staff. Whereas the main treatment room was previously centred in the middle of the training base and likened to a 'dungeon' by insiders, now it is a vast, airy room with leading technology that looks out on to the first-team training pitches and should provide a more motivational space for players working their way back from injury. The centre boasts dry flotation tanks, red-light therapy, hyperbaric and cryotherapy chambers.
In the first-team dressing room, each player has their own in-built digital screen next to their personal pods welcoming them and detailing their individualised schedules. The only player not to have been allocated a number alongside his name is Jadon Sancho, whose No 25 was given to Manuel Ugarte last season. The sometime England forward – one of the so-called 'bomb squad' alongside Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Tyrell Malacia and Marcus Rashford, who has joined Barcelona on loan – seems likely to depart before the close of the transfer window alongside those other outcasts.
Collette Roche, United's chief operating officer, and board member Sir Dave Brailsford had visited a series of leading facilities in the US, including the LA Rams NFL franchise, to draw ideas and inspiration and they have all filtered through into the final design by architects Foster + Partners. United's new performance director Sam Erith, who arrived from Manchester City, and the players were all heavily consulted with a number of adaptations and additions made along the way. For example, it took three months to dig down to create the foundations to install a HydroWorx underwater treadmill, which can dramatically aid a player's rehabilitation from injury, that had not been included in the original design but was considered a non-negotiable. There is also one of the largest altitude training chambers in world football that can simulate training at a wide range of altitudes, temperatures and humidities and a specialist hub for United's team of analysts to watch and closely monitor players' workouts.
The players' canteen – which houses the barbers and F1 simulator in the far corner – is a vast open area. Food and drink menus are displayed on digital screens outside the kitchens, where United's new performance chef Will Carvalho and his catering team serve up their culinary delights. Lunch on Friday was Italian themed and included gnocchi with basil pesto and salmon puttanesca. Breakfast options featured infused oat porridge, smoothie bowls, baked oats and a selection of pancakes. Chief executive Omar Berrada is sitting in the corner in a meeting with staff when we visit. The players' briefing room, where Amorim and his coaching staff can provide video and tactical analysis, comes complete with plush cream Italian leather seats and giant television. There is also a new 80-seater media auditorium in the facility.
By the start of the new year, United expect to have around 500 of their 700-strong staff working out of Carrington, including the majority of senior executives. United's team of analysts work in a large open plan office with rooms at both ends where Amorim and his coaching staff and director of football Jason Wilcox can convene in privacy if needed. The recruitment team is a little further down the corridor. It is a similar set-up for staff on the opposite side. 'Culture, collaboration and performance' are three of the buzzwords United use to describe the new training ground and the centre certainly has an inclusive feel to it while amplifying the feeling of light and space.
Heaton moved to United a couple of years after Carrington first opened and admits that the old facility had 'become a little bit clunky' as adaptations were bolted on. 'Walking back through the door having been out for a year, we've all been blown away,' Heaton said. United's first team were forced to train in the women's new £10m facility last season while the redevelopment work was underway. 'Of course it's people that give life to a building and players on the pitch bring performances and results but I think this facility gives us a great foundation,' Heaton added.
Dalot, who is still a Portugal team-mate of Ronaldo, joked that he would send the former United striker pictures if he asked. 'I'm sure he would love it if he would be able to see it,' the defender said.
Dalot and Heaton are both part of Amorim's new six-strong leadership group and expect the training base to help efforts to improve the culture in the dressing room. Heaton revealed he had already been forced to dish out one 'b---------g'.
'It's not just about delivering a sort of b---------s as you put it – I think it's also about supporting people that need it, trying to make sure we're guiding it and channelling it in the right way,' he added.
Dalot agreed. 'I think finally we're getting to a level where this club deserves to be [off the pitch] and now it's up to us to, on the pitch, to match that standard,' he said.
'Ultimately, we're talking about our second home, which is where we spend the most time after our personal homes with our families. So I think you should be able to feel good once you come in. I think these facilities right now are exactly what we thought it would be – and even better.'
Amid the 450 job cuts over the last year and raft of changes, United stood accused at times of losing some of their heart and soul but there will be an indelible link to the past every time people enter the reception doors now. Sir Alex Ferguson, the former United manager, was at Friday's opening ceremony to unveil a special plaque in memory of the late Kath Phipps, who was the club's longest serving employee before her death last year. The large plaque describes the beloved former receptionist as 'the welcoming heart of Manchester United for 56 years' and features her popular refrain: 'Work hard and smile, you're at Manchester United.'
It is the job of the players now to do just that – and put smiles back on the faces of supporters, starting against Arsenal next Sunday. A building, after all, can only do so much.