LOS ANGELES • Manchester United will play Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City during a five-match close-season tour of the United States which will kick off in Los Angeles in July, the club said on Tuesday.
The English Premier League giants will open their tour with a game against Los Angeles Galaxy at the Major League Soccer team's StubHub Centre stadium in Carson, California on July 15.
They will then face Real Salt Lake at the Rio Tinto Stadium on July 17.
Three days later, United will line up against cross-town rivals Manchester City at a venue to be determined.
Pasadena's Rose Bowl is being linked to the fixture, which forms part of the International Champions Cup (ICC) tournament.
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MAN UNITED'S U.S. TOUR
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JULY 15
LA Galaxy (MLS)
JULY 17
Real Salt Lake (MLS)
JULY 20
Manchester City (EPL)
JULY 23
Real Madrid (La Liga)
JULY 26
Barcelona (La Liga)
United manager Jose Mourinho will then come up against his former club Real at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium, home of the National Football League's (NFL) San Francisco 49ers, on July 23.
They will wrap up the tour with a fixture against Barcelona on July 26 at FedEx Field, home of the NFL's Washington Redskins.
It is the first meeting of the two sides since United beat Barcelona 3-1 in California in 2015.
Speaking of the club's summer plans, United's vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: "Tours are vital for the team's preparations for the season ahead and we are facing top- class opposition in world-class stadiums, ensuring it is the ideal environment for the manager and team to prepare.
"Everybody is excited for the tour and it gives us the opportunity to play in front of some of the millions of Manchester United supporters which we have across the USA."
United have taken part in the last four ICC tournaments in North America and China. The team have played 10 games, winning on seven occasions with almost 600,000 supporters attending.
Mourinho's side are through to this season's Europa League quarter-finals against Anderlecht next month, and former manager Alex Ferguson has urged the team, three-time winners of the European Cup/Champions League, to focus on winning the second-tier title.
"The thing is, we've never won the Europa League," he told ESPN.
"We've got a great draw. I'm not saying it's a certainty, but they've got a great chance.
"It's still a European trophy. And if you win it, you get into the Champions League. The incentive is greater to do that."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS
