Inside Story: How an iconic squad photo was taken

Ben Duffy, a photographer, is the man in charge of our 2025/26 shoot, and his explanation of the mission at hand brings back a flash of nostalgia.

Growing up as a kid, you’d look forward to the first magazine or programme of the season being released.

That’s because it would often include, as its centrefold, a glossy A4 print depicting every member of that term’s Manchester United squad, wearing the brand-new strip and hopefully showing off the previous campaign’s silverware.

You’d carefully tear it out and stick it on your bedroom wall, where it would stay until the next summer – or longer, depending on how successful the team was and the faces involved.

But, in recent years, the tradition – a time capsule of each chapter in our rich history – has slipped a little, for various reasons.

According to our records, the last squad photo of the men’s team to be published was the 2019/20 version, while the women’s side haven’t got together and formally posed for the camera in this way since the team was established in 2018.

Until now...

On Friday 12 December and a sunny morning at Carrington, I'm invited into the players’ gym to witness it happen.

It’s the women’s turn first, and before Marc Skinner brings his side through, I’m asked to help ‘sit in’ to frame the photograph.

There are three defined rows, with the front set of players sitting on a bench, and the back set standing on one, so they tower above those in the middle.

White cards are laid out to inform everyone where to sit or stand, with Skinner and captain Maya Le Tissier together at the bottom. The three goalkeepers will be behind them, while everyone else is roughly ordered by height, with taller players such as Dominique Janssen and Fridolina Rolfo at the back.

Everyone turns up together, and only Celin Bizet Donnum is missing – the Norwegian recently announced that she is expecting her first child, in 2026.

Traditionally, the squad photos have been taken on the pitch at Old Trafford, or edited to make it look like this has been the case, but the 2025/26 version has the gym as its location – usually it’s brightly lit, but today the overhead bulbs are dimmed, and the red background lights help the kit to really pop.

Ben, aided by three assistants, mans his camera while giant flashbulbs go off each time he hits the button.

“Shall we all pose like this?” Millie Turner asks light-heartedly, while flexing her bicep. Jess Park, our brilliant summer signing, entertains herself by turning her name card into a paper aeroplane.

The players have to be directed a few millimetres to the left, or right, and while Ben is politely doing his ushering, Manuel Ugarte – also kitted out – pops his head in.

He’s quickly followed by Diogo Dalot, then Bruno Fernandes and all of a sudden the gym is filled with the men’s first team squad as they prepare for their own photo.

But there’s a twist, and, after months of careful planning and the alignment of busy schedules, club history is about to be made.

A couple more benches are mustered to make room for the men to come in, once the women are done, and pose for a United first – a joint squad picture.

Jake, our social media man, has given Matheus Cunha a GoPro camera and the Brazilian, always good value, shares a joke with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw before getting in position.

Ruben Amorim seeks out Skinner at the front and the pair share a warm handshake before sitting together.

The men’s squad is bigger, so it’s not an exact split, but it’s warming to see the likes of Fernandes and Le Tissier swap stories as they smile for the camera. Academy products Tom Heaton and Safia Middleton-Patel are at separate ends of their careers but can surely talk about what it’s like coming through the United system, as they’re stationed together.

All in all, I count 49 subjects – including the two head coaches – while a 50th will be added in the edit, as unfortunately Benjamin Sesko is ill on this day and unable to attend, although he thankfully soon recovers.

Mr Duffy and his team check each attempt on the laptop, making the necessary adjustments between shots.

Soon, they’re happy and the women can leave and get on with preparations for their weekend fixture.

Aside from the behind-the-scenes conversations, it only took around 10 minutes to capture an image that will now live through the generations.

Just as we can refer to Sir Matt Busby’s great teams via sepia-tinged cutouts, future fans will be able to glance at this squad photo and see just who represented our senior teams during this particular year.

It’s actually quite a humbling experience, when you think about it like this, and that continues when the men are alone for their image.

“It’s not easy guys, to take a picture!” laughs Amorim, during one of the pauses between flashes, and, to be fair, he’s right.

But the end product makes it all worth it – a postcard of the present, of one club.

United.