United Beyond Manchester

Let’s start by saying this: Manchester United should never lose a game to an all-star team from ASEAN. The performance was poor and further indicated that the club needs to move on from certain players.

That being said, Ruben Amorim’s team should never have been forced to go in the first place. After a grueling 60-match season, a squad including Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Amad Diallo, and other top players were forced to fly across the globe and risk injury to play two matches. And for what? A small financial windfall?

Trip Finances

United are expected to make £8 million on the trip, about the same amount the club pays part-timer Luke Shaw every season (£7.8 million according to Spotrac). That amount is a drop in the bucket that will do little to relieve the financial problems the club faces.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting and money-making moves have angered fans, club officials, and general football lovers alike. He ended Sir Alex Ferguson’s ambassadorship, cut hundreds of jobs, and cut funding for club non-profits to name a few of the hard-to-swallow money-saving actions this season. The trip to Malaysia is just another questionable decision in the name of correcting the club’s finances.

The Risks

First off, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made it clear he will do anything to improve Manchester United’s financial standing. That itself is a risk, as it allows him the freedom to make moves like this trip. Despite the backlash from fans and pundits, Ratcliffe has and will continue to do what he feels is necessary, even at the expense of the club’s soul.

Second, the injury risk is high. Many players in the squad played over 50 competitive matches this season. Now they’re being made to play two matches in four days under brutal conditions halfway across the world At this point, if a player is injured, they could miss time to start the next season or affect transfer value if the club is looking to offload them.

Post-Trip and Summer Implications

After facing Hong Kong in the second match of the trip, Manchester United players will have less than two months to rest before the first official preseason match against Leeds United on July 19th.

Of course, many of the current players will have already moved on from the club by then, with a fresh, reworked squad expected for the beginning of next season. Matheus Cunha is already on his way to Old Trafford, for example. Even still, preseason for Manchester United could be uncomfortable for those involved in the postseason trip.

Were boos warranted for the poor performance against the ASEAN All-Stars? Maybe, but the fan discontentment is on Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the new hierarchy, not Ruben Amorim and the players.