Ronaldo’s brutal complaint forced Man Utd into a £50m overhaul with a barber and cryo-chambers

Cristiano Ronaldo’s blunt verdict on Manchester United’s crumbling training complex has triggered a dramatic £50million transformation—complete with a barber shop, luxury pool, cryo-chambers, and sleek new corridors.

The swanky new Carrington facility will finally open its doors next month, just in time for Ruben Amorim’s squad to return from their US pre-season tour on August 4. It follows relentless behind-the-scenes work funded by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has pumped £236 million into revamping United’s infrastructure since acquiring a 27.7% stake.

Ronaldo’s second stint at United may have ended sourly, but his critique of the “stagnant” training base clearly hit a nerve. The Portuguese icon refused to use the pool during his 2021–22 return, condemning its “loose, chipped and missing tiles” as a hazard. It was the same pool, he claimed, that he had used before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009.

United insiders initially saw the comments as harsh. But Ratcliffe’s Ineos team listened—and acted. They’ve overhauled not just the pool, but the entire flow of the facility. Players will now progress through a revamped layout—changing rooms, gym, pool, medical and massage zones—before hitting the pitch. Everything is designed to maximise performance.

State-of-the-art cryogenic recovery chambers and a cutting-edge gym have been installed. But the upgrades go well beyond sport science. In an unprecedented move for a British football training facility, United have added a dedicated barber shop upstairs.

There’s also a new players’ lounge and a top-class canteen aimed at persuading stars to stay and socialise instead of bolting home. Amorim is desperate for team bonding, especially with tensions still lingering from the so-called “Bomb Squad” of Rashford, Garnacho, and Sancho—three players reportedly on the chopping block.

Foster + Partners, the architects behind the project, have also been commissioned to design United’s proposed 100,000-seater ‘Wembley of the North’ by 2030. Until then, this Carrington revamp will be the centrepiece of Ratcliffe’s ambition to drag United back to elite standards.

Even the corridors have changed. Staff likened the old ones to a “dingy NHS hospital,” and complained of a lack of windows. That’s now been fixed. The second floor, previously boxed-in offices, has been opened up into a collaborative workspace. The goal is to make Carrington United’s main operational base, with commercial and administrative teams moving in from Old Trafford.

This is not the first time United have revamped parts of their training infrastructure. In 2023, they opened a £10million building shared by the women’s and academy teams, which also served as a temporary home for Amorim’s senior squad during the first-team building renovation.

Ratcliffe’s right-hand man, Sir Dave Brailsford, played a major role in the revamp, drawing inspiration from elite American football training grounds. Brailsford’s influence signals a cultural shift: a scientific, performance-driven approach replacing United’s outdated model.

Carrington was once the envy of English football when United moved there in 2000. But over the decades, it faded—just like the club’s fortunes. When Ronaldo blasted the place as stuck in a “time warp,” he wasn’t just talking about tiles. He was issuing a challenge.

Now, with every corridor refitted, every pool retiled, and a barber ready to trim even the most pampered star, that challenge is being answered.