Manchester United on Tuesday announced plans to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium that co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said would be the "world's greatest" football ground.

The Premier League club have been examining whether to redevelop their historic Old Trafford home or build a new stadium in the same area.

United have now confirmed their "intention to pursue a new 100,000-seater stadium as the centrepiece of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area" as they throw their "support behind the government's growth agenda."

Scaled models and conceptual images for how the new Old Trafford and surrounding area could look like were revealed on Tuesday at the London headquarters of architects Foster + Partners, appointed in September to design the stadium district.

"Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world's greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford," Ratcliffe said.

"Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport." (AFP)