MANCHESTER UNITED'S MASTERMIND BEHIND £60M 'WORLD CLASS' REVAMP OF TRAINING GROUND IS TO LEAVE CLUB BEFORE WORK GETS UNDERWAY ON MENS PLAYERS' BASE
- Mags Mernagh oversaw new £10million complex for women and academy
- She played key role in plans for £50m overhaul of men's Carrington facilities
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Mags Mernagh, the brains behind a £60million revamp of Manchester United’s training ground, is leaving the club.
Mernagh, whose title was Carrington infrastructure director, oversaw the building of a new £10m complex for the women’s and academy teams that opened last summer, and played a key role in plans for the £50m overhaul of the men’s facilities.
It’s understood that Mernagh has decided to leave and seek a new challenge before work starts on the new project. Club sources say it is her decision and unrelated to new co-owners Ineos cutting 25 per cent of the workforce.
Mernagh, who was based at the training ground, emailed staff last week to inform them that she is leaving United two years after moving from Leicester City. Gary Hebblewhite will switch from an equivalent role at Old Trafford to assume her responsibilities.
The £50m refurbishment follows a review of Carrington led by Ineos sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford and an announcement by Sir Jim Ratcliffe last month that Foster + Partners will carry out the work.
Ratcliffe said: ‘We want to create a world-class environment for our teams to win. When we conducted a thorough review of the Carrington training facilities and met with our men’s first-team players, it was clear the standards had fallen below some of our peers.
‘This project will ensure Manchester United’s training ground is once more renovated to the highest standards.
‘Lord Foster, a fellow Mancunian, has brought some great inspiration to the design, in conjunction with the Manchester United team and we look forward to seeing the improvement to the facilities but most importantly on the pitch.’
Work will focus on the gym, medical, nutrition, and recovery areas, with what the club describe as ‘a design emphasis on creating more space for collaboration and innovation among players and staff’.
It will be completed in time for the 2025-26 season and Ineos have decided to move the women’s team from their new headquarters into portable buildings at Carrington to make way for the men when the first players return for pre-season on Monday.
United have also begun a redesign of the tunnel area at Old Trafford to be finished in time for the opening Premier League game of the season at home to Fulham on August 16.
The improvements to the football operations will be funded by the extra £245m Ratcliffe pledged as part of his £1.3billion investment.
Meanwhile, United’s chief executive of alliance and partnerships Victoria Timpson, who negotiated the new £60m-a-year shirt sponsorship with Snapdragon, has also announced that she is leaving the club.
Timpson joins a long list of executives to go under Ineos that includes chief executive Richard Arnold, interim CEO Patrick Stewart, chief financial officer Cliff Baty, football director John Murtough and chief communications officer Ellie Norman.
Mail Sport understands that Ineos are switching the club’s healthcare programme from Bupa to Vitality as part of the cost-cutting exercise, although sources say the level of provision for staff will remain the same.
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