Man Utd fly to Asia on post-season tour

MANCHESTER, England, May 26, 2025 – Manchester United’s players are not finished for the season with Sunday’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

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Immediately after their final Premier League game at Old Trafford they were boarding a flight to Malaysia for their two-match trip to Asia, which concludes with a game against the Hong Kong national side on Friday.

Manager Ruben Amorim has taken 32 players on the trip – including captain Bruno Fernandes, veteran midfielder Casemiro and winger Alejandro Garnacho.

Argentina international Garnacho, 20, was left out of Sunday’s matchday squad against Villa and is understood to have been told he can find a new club this summer.

The win against Villa, just United’s 11th in the league this season, led to them finishing 15th, on 42 points, and is accepted to be the club’s worst campaign since the 1973-74 relegation season.

It concluded a week where they lost the Europa League final to Tottenham 1-0 in Bilbao and missed out on a place in the Champions League.

It is thought the trip will generate about $10m (£7.8m) for the club, but comes at the end of a season where United have played 60 games in all competitions.

Who is going on the post-season trip?

The majority of the first team have travelled including defender Matthijs de Ligt, who has not played since 4 May because of injury and Netherlands international team-mate Joshua Zirkzee, who has just returned from a long lay-off with a hamstring injury.

Andre Onana and Luke Shaw, who missed Sunday’s game, are included, as is veteran defender Jonny Evans, 37, who is leaving the club at the end of the season.

Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen, who have also confirmed their departures, have not travelled for “personal reasons”.

Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in February, does not travel, while Noussair Mazraoui and Lenny Yoro also miss out with injuries.

There are a lot of inexperienced players as well, who Amorim will want to assess before deciding the shape of his squad for next season.

Jaydan Kamason, Godwill Kukonki, Tyler Fletcher, Sekou Kone and Jack Moorhouse are on the trip, having caught the eye at youth level this season.

While it is anticipated Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi will be part of the first-team squad next season.

What has been the reaction to the trip?

The Red Devils will take on ASEAN All Stars in Kuala Lumpur on 28 May before travelling to play Hong Kong two days later.

United’s international players will then join up with their national teams the following week.

Five days after United’s final game, Fernandes and Diogo Dalot will likely be involved for Portugal in their Nations League semi-final against Germany on 4 June.

United’s pre-season then begins with a match in Sweden against Leeds United on 19 July, before they fly to the US as part of the Premier League’s pre-season tournament between 26 July and 3 August.

They finally host Fiorentina on 9 August.

Amorim has previously defended the post-season trip, calling it a “small sacrifice” which allows the club to “make contact with our fans around the world.”

Defender Harry Maguire has said: “It is the club’s decision and we don’t have any right to argue against it after the performances we have put on.

“As players, we have to take responsibility for the position in the Premier League and the money we have generated this season through that finish, which is nowhere near good enough.

“We don’t have a right to stand here and criticise the club for trying to generate some money that will hopefully help us next season with signings.”

Defeat in Bilbao means United will be without European football next season for only the second time since 1990, leaving a £100m hole in the club’s finances.

Last week, BBC Sport reported United have told some staff working at their Carrington training ground that they will lose their jobs, in the second round of redundancies since Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought into the club last year.

The latest cutbacks come against a bleak financial backdrop, with United losing more than £370m over the past five years.

Last season, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United flew to Australia for a post-season friendly, which was described as “madness” by BBC pundit Alan Shearer.

The increased workload on elite players has been widely discussed this season, with all three European club competitions expanded this season and Fifa’s revamped Club World Cup starting next month in the US.

Former Manchester City defender Michael Brown told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast: “At the end of the season, you walk around the pitch and you get that feeling of ‘I’m done, I’m finished’ and you want to go and put your feet up and have the mental rest before the international games. You look forward to the break.

“I understand why they want want to do it financially, but it shouldn’t be allowed.”

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson added: “Not a single one of those players will want to go, but they are commercially obliged to go in their contracts.”