'When we bought Manchester City, we looked up to United. Now Sir Jim should learn from us'

A Manchester City executive has welcomed Sir Jim Ratcliffe's plans to turn Old Trafford into a 'Wembley of the North' - but he hopes that United will learn lessons from their rivals. Marty Edelman, who is a member of the City Football Group board, told an audience at the MIPIM property conference in the French Riviera on Tuesday (March 12) that the move by Manchester United is 'excellent'.

It comes after the club's co-owner Sir Jim announced his ambitions to replace Old Trafford with a ground that could be used as a national venue and redevelop the area around the stadium. The club has set up a new task force to explore the options available.

Speaking at MIPIM, Mr Edelman reflected on Man City's success in regenerating parts of the city, most notably Ancoats. He said the club teaming up with Manchester council to redevelop the 'rundown' area was, in part, motivated by the social impact it would have.

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He also made an 'admission' to the audience, saying that when the club was first taken over, its bosses looked up to its rivals at Man United as role models. Asked about United's plans to redevelop Old Trafford, Mr Edelman said: "We think it's great. Why wouldn't we?"

But he went on to say United should now learn from City. He said: "The value of the rivalry is important to both clubs actually and it's important to Manchester. We'd rather be the one who wins all the time, but other than that, it's not good for any of the clubs to fail.

"And I think the description of Old Trafford by its owners is accurate. So I think the fact that the new lead owner is going to make a dramatic move is