United’s £10m plans dented by the World Cup as INEOS scramble for alternatives – report

Last season, Manchester United flew to Asia straight after their final Premier League game of the season for a series of friendlies. Two games against the ASEAN All Stars and Hong Kong were lined up with INEOS raising almost €10 million from the games while the players had the chance to meet their huge fanbase in Asia. While it involved plenty of travelling for certain players and was quite exhaustive, especially following a dismal end to the previous season, the move was seen as essential by the co-owners given the finances involved. With the Red Devils missing out on Champions League football, the added money went a long way for the club and there were talks of this being a feature in the club’s annual calendar. Post-season friendlies But with the World Cup set to begin in less than three weeks after the final league game, there is hardly any time to schedule games this time around as per The Daily Mail. “The World Cup is likely to rule out Manchester United going on another mini tour as soon as the season ends next year – and could have a significant bearing on their pre-season plans, too. “Confidential understands there won’t be time between the end of the campaign on May 24 and the start of the tournament in North America on June 11 for United to repeat their visit to Malaysia and Hong Kong after the final game of last season, which earned the club around £10million.” Interestingly, the 20-time English league champions were also mulling over returning to the United States for pre-season, but even those plans might need to be recalibrated. Pre-season plans might change as well The US will be hosting the quadrennial showpiece, and United are concerned the general public over there might get bored with the increased number of matches, and hence, Asia might represent a better financial option. “United must also decide if the five-week World Cup will whet the US public’s appetite for more football or saturate the market, potentially impacting ticket sales. The World Cup final will take place on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and United are set to go on tour shortly afterwards. “But having toured the US for the last three summers in conjunction with a £60m-a-year sponsorship deal with Snapdragon, there is a feeling that United might be better off exploring the Asian market again next year.” Keeping these hurdles in mind, and given the lack of games this season, United are planning mid-season friendlies in Saudi Arabia. Manchester United are hoping possible games against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr might make up for the lack of post-season games. Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25