As one of the biggest football clubs on the planet, Manchester United face a significant demand for matchday tickets year in and year out. Although their performances and results on the pitch haven't been up to scratch for much of the last decade, fans have continued to flock to Old Trafford week in, week out.
Getting hold of tickets for Man Utd matches at Old Trafford is difficult, but not impossible. If you are a fan looking for Manchester United tickets for non-members then the guide below will provide you with all the information you need to know.
Manchester United tickets: How they are sold
At present, Old Trafford has a capacity of 74,310 and more than 50,000 of those seats are taken by season ticket holders for every home league match. After you add the away allocation of 3,000, that only leaves around 20,000 seats for non-season ticket holders.
The majority of these tickets are advertised to members who are given the option to apply for tickets. At present, there are over 300,000 members at Man Utd so needless to say, applications are almost always oversubscribed which means a random ballot takes place for each match.
Occasionally, there will be matches where tickets go beyond season ticket holders and members and hit general sale. In these instances, anyone in the public can log on and purchase a ticket for the match, however, these instances are rare.
Manchester United tickets for non-members: How to get tickets
Despite the large number of season ticket holders and members, all is not lost if you are just a member of the general public looking for Manchester United tickets. Here are a few possible options.
Wait for general sale matches
The easiest and cheapest way to get Manchester United tickets as a non-member is to simply wait for matches that go all the way to general sale. These are typically unglamorous cup ties against lower-league opposition so there is no guarantee of these matches each season. It is extremely rare for Premier League matches to reach general sale.
Sportsbreaks
Sportsbreaks are an official ticket partner of Man Utd and they offer matchday packages for every home match across all competitions. To purchase these packages, you don't need to be a member, you just have to be prepared to pay over the odds for tickets.
Matchday packages at Old Trafford via Sportsbreaks come not only with a matchday ticket but also an overnight stay with breakfast at a hotel in Manchester. Fans are also given an official membership when they buy a ticket through Sportsbreaks.
These packages vary in price depending on the magnitude of the match. For example, packages for matches against Man City and Liverpool are being advertised at £249 while matches against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth are being advertised at £169.
Unofficial third-party websites
Although Sportsbreaks are an official third-party seller of Man Utd tickets, there are plenty of other ‘unofficial' websites that sell tickets for Manchester United matches at Old Trafford. One of the most reputable websites is LiveFootballTickets and they are currently advertising several tickets for upcoming Man Utd matches.
Like with Sportsbreaks, fans who use this method to purchase tickets will need deeper pockets as all of them are advertised at a price greater than face value.
Supporters Clubs
Manchester United have over 300 official Supporters Clubs worldwide, and several of these are allocated tickets for each match. These allocated tickets come via members ballots as at least 50 people in each supporters club MUST be members, however, that doesn't mean you have to be in order to get tickets.
Check whether you can join your local Man Utd Supporters Club and you might be in luck. It's likely that each Supporters Club will have its own method for distributing tickets but if you play the long game, it could pay off.
Hospitality
One final way to get Manchester United tickets for non-members is to pay for a hospitality ticket at Old Trafford. There are varying levels of hospitality at Old Trafford from private boxes to executive suites but all of them come at a premium. You don't need to be a member at the club to purchase hospitality tickets, you simply just have to visit the hospitality section on the club website and enquire.