Gary Neville has made a donation to a flag commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
The flag will appear prior to United entertaining Everton on 10 February
The Sky Sports pundit and England coach's gesture has helped finance the giant flag, which features a picture of Manchester United's Busby Babes lining up for their final match against Red Star Belgrade on 5 February 1958.
A day later the club's plane crashed after a failed take off in Munich as their plane stopped off for fuel en route back to England. Twenty-three were killed, including eight United players.
Neville, then United captain, lights candles for the victims in 2008
Neville intervened after the Stretford End Flags group requested designs for a new flag, suggesting it should specifically be a tribute to the Busby Babes.
A spokesman for the group said: “Gary saw one of our Tweets and got in touch. He said that if it was something to do with the Busby Babes he would get involved.
“Gary told us it was used to motivate the players and they knew all about what the image represented.” He said the fans’ group still needed contributions to make sure they met their third of the price.
Neville with Wes Brown, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs on the week of the 50th anniversary
The flag will be unveiled when United host Everton at Old Trafford on 10 February, exactly five years after a poignant pre-match tribute in the week of the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.
A nervous United were however beaten with ease by Manchester City 2-1, with Neville an injured onlooker in the stands.