I visited the greatest stadium in Europe before it gets demolished – Man Utd have made a mistake

Manchester United recently announced plans to build a new 100,000-seater stadium – which Sir Jim Ratcliffe has promised to be the ‘world’s greatest’ – but there’s a fear that the Glazer family could pull the rug from under the club’s feet at any moment.

In many ways, parallels can be drawn between the Americans’ ownership of United and the ‘destruction’ of Valencia Club de Fútbol by Peter Lim. In 2014, the Singaporean billionaire became the majority shareholder at the Mestalla Stadium, effectively saving the club from bankruptcy after years of mismanagement.

Lim cleared the Spanish giants' debt and set aside millions to finally complete the construction of a new stadium – which had been dormant since work was halted in 2009. Valencia first announced plans for the ’Nou Mestalla’ towards the end of 2006 before building work began the following year.

"The first project, the original one, which was like a premium design with a cover made of aluminium and steel, it had plenty of charisma," said Paco Polit, speaking exclusively to the Manchester Evening News. "Obviously things have changed since then and the current project has zero relation whatsoever to what we saw back in the day."

By February 2009, the the initial concrete structure had been completed, but Valencia faced financial problems so the project was shelved. Los Che was in incredible debt, which was later cleared by Lim upon his arrival as majority shareholder.

At first, it seemed as if the Singaporean would breathe new life into Valencia and lead the club back to its former glory. Six-time La Liga champions. Eight-time Cope Del Rey winners. European giants.

"Back in the day, it was seen as a logical step forward because in 2004 Valencia were the champions of La