Premium seats come at a price

For the past couple of seasons there have been demonstrations by Manchester United supporters sitting in front of the directors' box at Old Trafford complaining at the fact they were being relocated to other parts of the stadium.

An email sent to fans on Tuesday confirming Elevate as United's first "official hospitality partner" goes some way to explaining why.

United say the partnership "expands our official hospitality offering".

There are four packages listed (there are a lot more besides these).

One offers a meet and greet with a current first-team squad member; another a photo with the team captain before kick-off; a third helps with "planting the corner flag"; and another is the "dugout club experience".

All offer padded seating behind the team dugout as part of the overall package.

The basic reality is United knew they could make far more money from the seats between the directors' box and the dugouts than they had been generating.