KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — A Manchester United squad, including Argentine winger Alejandro Garnacho, was set to arrive in Malaysia on Monday for a post-season friendly, just hours after concluding the club’s worst campaign since 1974.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — A Manchester United squad, including Argentine winger Alejandro Garnacho, was set to arrive in Malaysia on Monday for a post-season friendly, just hours after concluding the club’s worst campaign since 1974.
Despite a 2-0 win over a 10-man Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday, manager Ruben Amorim faces a major rebuild this summer to restore the club’s stature. Amorim later apologised to fans, calling the season a “disaster” after United finished 15th in the Premier League and lost 1-0 to Spurs in last week’s Europa League final.
Shortly after the victory over Villa, a 32-man squad — featuring Garnacho — departed on an overnight flight to Kuala Lumpur for a friendly match on Wednesday against a Southeast Asian XI.
The tour will continue with another match in Hong Kong on Friday against the city’s representative team. United is banking on the two post-season fixtures to generate much-needed funds, with reports from the BBC estimating the tour could bring in around US$10 million (RM47 million). However, tickets for both matches were still available as of Monday.
Garnacho, 20, did not play in the Villa match and his future at United remains uncertain after he and his brother publicly criticised Amorim for excluding him from the Europa League final squad. Goalkeeper Andre Onana and defender Luke Shaw, who also sat out Sunday’s match, are part of the touring squad.
Defenders Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui did not travel, but most of the remaining first-team players are expected to participate.
Temperatures in Kuala Lumpur are expected to reach 37°C (99°F) this week, with thunderstorms predicted on the day of the match at the 84,000-capacity Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
Similar weather conditions are forecast for Hong Kong, with high humidity nearing 100 percent. Friday’s match will be held at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium, where poor weather conditions previously drew criticism. In July 2013, then Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio described the pitch as a “killer” following heavy rainfall. — AFP
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