Manchester United will begin preparations for the 2025/26 season when they take on Leeds United in Sweden on Saturday 19 July.
Ruben Amorim will plan for an intense schedule to prepare Manchester United for his first full season as head coach.
A friendly match in Sweden will be followed by United’s pre-season tour of Asia.
United’s first team will be aiming to bounce back from a disastrous season with multiple challenging problems facing the club on and off the pitch.
Ineos are tackling the financial issues impacting United, but they disappointed fans by increasing season ticket prices ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The latest attempt for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to raise funds comes with the announcement of another pre-season friendly.
In facing a side on the cusp of promotion out of the Championship, United and Leeds could easily be an all-Premier League tie for football fans in Sweden to enjoy.
Photo by Jan Kruger - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Jan Kruger – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Manchester United are going to Stockholm
Manchester United will launch their preparations for the 2025/26 season with an eagerly anticipated friendly match against rivals Leeds United.
More United News
The fixture will kick off at 15:00 CET (14:00 BST) and it brings United back to a country where they share a rich connection.
Three United players have captained the national side during their career, including Henrik Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Victor Lindelof.
In addition to those players, three other Swedes have represented the Reds over the years.
Jasper Blomqvist won the Treble in 1999, while Anthony Elanga and Bojan Djordjic graduated through United’s academy.
Speaking to United in Focus about the friendly match announcement, Per Larsen, secretary of Manchester United Supporters’ Club Scandinavia, expressed delight at United returning to Scandinavia for the fourth time in five years.
United’s Scandinavian branch boasts an impressive 47,000 members which helps explain why they have returned so often in recent years.
“Absolutely, it’s great. It will be the fourth time in five years that they [Manchester United] will be here in Scandinavia.
“It has been a sell-out every time they have been to Norway, so this is the first pre-season game in Stockholm for a while.
“It’s a large stadium – 50,000 – so it will be interesting to see if they sell-out the complete capacity.”
It has brought a positive reaction to the many United fans in Stockholm, as Larsen went on to explain.
“In Stockholm there will be a positive reaction,” he added.
“The ‘best seats’ are quite expensive but there are definitely affordable seats around the stadium.
“This will be huge for the whole of Scandinavia where there are lots of United supporters.
“We are used to it in Norway where the ticket prices are genuinely high for these types of games. I can prices for about £40-45 for a ticket in the stadium, which is cheaper than what it has been in Norway, where the capacity is not as big as the stadium in Sweden.”
United fans have been advised that tickets are already on sale.
Simon Sani, board member of the Manchester United Scandinavia branch for the past eight years, echoed Larsen’s thoughts.
“It was quite surprising for me that they had tickets available straight away [after the announcement], especially in Sweden as it was an unannounced event,” Sani said.
“Everybody I know is quite excited for it. We have already four or five thousand sold tickets. Hopefully, we will get it sold out.
“We want to increase our members in Sweden because we are very big in Norway, so this is a chance for me to meet supporters and tell them about what we do at the supporters’ club. We have our own magazine and 500 season tickets at Old Trafford.”
Manchester United made history in Stockholm
The fixture will see United return to Strawberry Arena – formerly known as the Friends Arena – for the first time since the 2017 Europa League final when United beat Ajax 2-0 to lift the trophy for the first time in the club’s history.
It’s a great throwback to remember in the build-up to our 2025/26 season.
United will aim to go all the way in the Europa League this season after reaching the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Reds will travel to France where they will face Lyon in the first leg following the March international break.