Man Utd are in the process of finalising their pre-season schedule with visits to different countries in Europe.
United will stay in Europe this summer.(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
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Manchester United will stay in Europe for pre-season this summer, a logical decision to avoid players featuring at the World Cup having to trek back and forth on long-haul flights.
The majority of United's senior players will represent their nations at the World Cup, so it would have been illogical to organise a pre-season trip to the United States, which would have required players to make repeat trips.
United's pre-season tours around the world have been hugely commercially successful, but the club will break tradition this summer to protect their players from clocking up thousands of air miles.
United did not travel abroad for pre-season in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Reds have played outside their own continent in every other summer since 2003. So, excluding the pandemic years, the last time United spent an entire pre-season in Europe was 2002.
Sir Alex Ferguson oversaw games in Ireland, England and the Netherlands that year. United played against Shelbourne, Chesterfield, Bournemouth, Valerenga, Ajax, Parma, Aarhus XI and Boca Juniors.
The first few friendlies were played in Ireland and England. United then competed at a tournament in Amsterdam, before playing in front of their home supporters at Old Trafford.
Rio Ferdinand signs autographs at Dean Court, July 2002.
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In the last three years, United have started in Scandinavia before travelling to the USA for a pre-season tour. Last summer, United played Leeds in Stockholm, Sweden, before travelling to New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta to take part in the Premier League's summer series.
The USA has been a popular pre-season choice for United, particularly over the last decade. United have grown the club's commercial base in the States exponentially thanks to their regular pre-season visits, which have pleased US-based sponsors by allowing them to see United play on home turf.
More recently, United have enjoyed a partnership with California-based company Qualcomm Technologies, whose Snapdragon logo has been on the front of United's shirts from the start of the 2024/25 season.
United played Wrexham at the Snapdragon Arena in 2023 and revisited the arena to play Real Betis a year later. The American company have also sponsored pre-season friendlies at Old Trafford. There has been talk of Snapdragon buying the naming rights of a new Old Trafford.
But before United cracked the American market, there were frequent trips to Asia, some to South Africa and more to Scandinavia. The club has planned every pre-season trip to grow the brand.
United played at the Strawberry Arena in Sweden last summer.(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
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United heavily targeted the Asian market in the 2000s. Park Ji-Sung was a superstar in South Korea, where it was claimed that 1.2million people had Manchester United design credit cards at one stage.
The Reds were Premier League pioneers at expanding into foreign markets, and that sustained work means they can afford to put player welfare first this summer. Fans outside Europe will be disappointed that United are staying closer to home, but it's the right decision given the World Cup.
Talks are ongoing to finalise a schedule that includes visits to Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. Historically, United have earmarked the first week of July as the first week of pre-season training at Carrington. This year the World Cup will run between June 11 and July 19.
United have often copped flak for being so commercially focused, but they are doing the right thing this summer.