May 4 – No sooner had Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho bemoaned a packed fixture schedule as the club battle to close its season out with a Champions League qualifying place, than the club triumphantly announce a sixth pre-season friendly, against Norway’s Valerenga on July 30.
The Scandinavian trip will come after the club’s pre-season tour of the US where they will play MLS sides LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, as well playing in the International Champions Club against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Pre-season tours have become a money-go-round of travel, sponsor appearances and fan events for Europe’s top clubs. Sometimes the football even matches up to the hype, but in a season that will culminate with the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the travel and number of matches will undoubtedly cause complaint come May 2018.
Manchester United’s Executive Vice Chairman, Ed Woodward, said: “The team will have access to top class facilities and the number of games this summer ensures that the manager and squad have the best opportunity to prepare for the coming season.”
For Manchester United the tour is an opportunity to take the club to fans worldwide, and new fans in the US in particular. Man Utd boasts over 650 million fans worldwide, though it is unlikely they could name them all. However, they do connect with more than 100 million of them on social media.
Manchester United Tour 2017 matches are sponsored by AON, who are also backing the Norwegian match which will be played at the 28,000 seater Ullevaal Stadium.
Dag Erik Aspaas, CEO of Aon Norway, said: “We welcome Manchester United to Norway as part of Tour 2017. Every day, in Norway and around the world, Aon works with organisations to empower results by reducing volatility and finding opportunities to improve performance. We are proud to support the Club on their journey to greatness.”
“Greatness” might be slightly over-hyping the tour, ‘tiredness’ might be a better adjective if we are to believe a very tired looking Mourinho.
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