Man Utd plan two controversial matches to boost revenues after ‘madness’ jibe

Ruben Amorim will take Manchester United’s squad to Malaysia and Hong Kong for post-season friendlies in May before heading to the United States for pre-season in July

Manchester United are set to play two money-spinning post-season friendlies in Malaysia and Hong Kong when the Premier League concludes in May.

And Ruben Amorim’s squad will then get a short break before heading to the United States for a tour ahead of the start of next season.

Their decision follows in the footsteps of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, who made the widely-criticised decision to visit Australia for a one-off friendly at the end of last season.

At the time the Premier League’s record goalscorer Alan Shearer described it as “madness” at a time when players and managers are complaining of an increased workload leading to injuries.

“Can you imagine if you’re a player who is playing in either the Copa America or Euro 2024 having to do that? Madness. Crazy,” Shearer told Match Of The Day.

“I wouldn’t be happy at all. It’s crazy for Newcastle to go and play Spurs there on Wednesday night and then another game.”

But United’s decision comes in a week where they confirmed that up to 200 employees will be made redundant as part of cost-cutting measures.

Amorim has said his underperforming team, who are 15th in the table and host Ipswich Town on Wednesday night, must shoulder the blame.

“We have to address all the problems in the club but one important piece of this moment is to understand how we get to this situation,” said Amorim.

“It has a lot to do with the lack of success of the football team because we are the engine of any football club.”

United have lost money in each of the past five seasons and their current absence from the Champions League is costing them a high eight-figure sum.

The club have a significant fan base in both Malaysia and Hong Kong. They also count Malaysia Airlines as their commercial airline partner. They last visited Malaysia in 2009, Hong Kong in 2013.

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