Manchester United looking to make Old Trafford third-largest stadium in Europe with increase to 88,000 seats

Only the Camp Nou and Wembley would be bigger

Old Trafford will grow to 88,000 if the plans are approved (Getty)

Manchester United are looking to make their Old Trafford home the third-largest in Europe by increasing their capacity to 88,000 seats.

The stadium, currently the ninth-biggest in Europe, has a capacity of 75,000 at the moment, but new technology means proposed plans to add another 7,500 seats in the Sir Bobby Charlton stand – the majority of the increase – will now be cheaper than they originally would have been.

United want to add two quadrants to the stand and would be able to do so without reducing the current capacity of the stadium while the work goes on, according to the Daily Mail.

The advanced technology means the work would no longer require the building of a tunnel to bypass the railway line behind the structure or the demolition of a number of houses.

The proposed 88,000 capacity would mean the Theatre of Dreams would be the second-largest club stadium in Europe, with only Barcelona’s 99,354-capacity Camp Nou ahead of it.

It would still be 2,000 seats short of Wembley’s 90,000 but would jump ahead of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.

A safe-standing area could also feature and while fans are in favour of this introduction, it would need to be approved by the FA and the Premier League.