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Manchester United are set to profit enormously from a pre-season tour, which takes place across five different countries, as the team begins their preparation for the 2023/24 season.
Erik ten Hag and his bandy of merry men will rack up roughly 16,000 miles in travel, playing eight times across twenty-five days.
United will face off against teams such as Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in the process, giving international fans a treat they may not otherwise get to experience.
It represents a potentially gruelling schedule, however, for a squad which was pushed to their limits physically last year.
An anomalous season, precipitated by a Winter World Cup and increased cup success, meant United played 63 games across 257 days. This equates to a fixture every 4.01 days.
Arsenal, by comparison, averaged a match every 5.2 days while the dismal 2022/23 United team clocked in a game every 5.74 days. The contrast, and associated physical drain on the players, is stark.
Finance expert, Keiran Maguire, has detailed why finance is the primary factor underpinning a tour soley ‘driven by commercial interests’, not player health or future competitiveness.
United are set to ‘earn around £15 million’ for their pre-season efforts in money paid by promoters alone. Additionally, there will be opportunities to sign further ‘deals and give local sponsors opportunities to have their products next to players.’
Manchester United’s success is one on a truly global scale. As such, the players are increasingly expected to be global stars as well, which means traversing the globe to reach your global fandom.
Maguire confirms how the club “want to touch base with their huge overseas fanbase”, even if it means their squad is “pushed to their limits.”
Dean Saunders has chastised United officials for such a decision. He describes the pre-season tour as “ridiculous” and asserts anyone associated with the club cannot complain about player welfare based on the tour.
The PFA have raised this as a concern as well. The Chief-Executive, Maheta Molango, has spoken of the need for a “properly co-ordinated approach to the football calendar” to ensure player’s wellbeing is prioritised.
“Space will need to be found alongside the long-distance pre-season tours clubs already take part in. A player-first approach is needed, one that acknowledges the need for a balanced and sustainable calendar. This is crucial for the overall health of the sport.”
It would appear Manchester United are being driven once again by commercial interests, rather than competitive ones. This is not individual to Old Trafford, however, with every top team tapping into international markets through their pre-season tour. And United officials will argue the increased revenue associated with international fans and sponsorship helps the long-term competitiveness of the team from a transfer perspective. With the exboritant amounts of money on offer it is evident why the club is making this decision, even if it is not to the betterment of their players.
A pre-season tour in Salford feels a very long way away.
