MANCHESTER UNITED could use midweek friendlies abroad to help fill the club’s financial blackhole after failing to qualify for Europe this season.
The Red Devils missed out on a £100million prize after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham in May before finishing 15th in the Premier League table.
United’s failure to qualify for Europe, followed by their shock Carabao Cup exit at Grimsby means the Old Trafford side have just ONE midweek fixture – the December 3 home game with West Ham – before Christmas.
But SunSport can exclusively reveal that Ruben Amorim’s side might make the most of their extra preparation time by facing off against a host of top European sides in a string of mid-season friendlies.
With United potentially having eight days between Prem games outside of the three autumn international breaks, semi-competitive friendlies could give the squad a chance to prepare for more high-quality football.
The Premier League strugglers could set up matches against the likes of AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Lazio and Sevilla – who all failed to secure European football this term.
United could benefit from the extra revenue from playing Milan in the UAE for example, while the other so-called ‘top-six’ clubs are competing in the Champions League.
Although it’s only a dip in the pond compared to the millions made from European qualification, the cash secured from the friendlies could go a long way towards recouping some of the losses for their failures.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co. generated around £7.8million during their pre-season tour of Asia and almost equalled that a month later through their trip to the US.
United could be in a great position to make around half of that if they split the earnings with Milan, or an even bigger share of any game with Leipzig or Lazio.
Meanwhile, SunSport recently revealed that Amorim is considering taking his players on a series of in-season bonding trips during their extra time off.
The Portuguese manager believes trips to the Algarve or even the Middle East would allow the players to spend more time in each others’ company and strengthen their connections.
While a final decision has not been taken, the argument is that giving the players a change of scenery rather than spending every training day at their main Carrington base would help galvanise his squad.
The former Sporting CP boss relished the time he spent with his squad at their main Chicago base for the Premier League Summer Series games the summer.
Meanwhile, United could reap the same benefits from any trips abroad as Arsenal do from their mid-season trips to Dubai around February time.
Amorim is preparing for his third Manchester derby this Sunday after picking up United’s first win of the season in a 3-2 against Burnley before the two week international break.
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