Real Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund are some of the teams that Manchester United have faced in their last two pre-season tours in the US. Their opponents in the upcoming trip to the US will be slightly less famous: West Ham, Everton and Bournemouth.
The contrast in class between opponents shows how much Man United have declined, especially in the international arena. In fact, most of the teams the "Red Devils" have to face have not come to the US this year. Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle are all on tour in Asia, while Chelsea and Manchester City are new to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the US.
It is not only Man United's pre-season games that lack appeal. The club has also been very slow in the transfer market, only announcing the arrival of Matheus Cunha and confirming the deal with Paraguay's youngster Diego Leon. The signing of Bryan Mbeumo has stalled, while other deals have also failed to progress.
Despite the lack of excitement, next month is a big time for Man United after a disastrous campaign. This is a season that coach Ruben Amorim publicly admitted was a "disaster".
The "Red Devils" will kick off a pre-season friendly series on Saturday with a match against Leeds in Stockholm, then head to the US. They will meet West Ham at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, then Bournemouth at Soldier Field Stadium in Chicago. They will eventually end their tour with a game against Everton at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
After that, M.U will return to Old Trafford to prepare for the final friendly match with Fiorentina, where goalkeeper David de Gea is playing. And the 2025-2026 Premier League season will officially start for Man United when they host Arsenal at home.
In theory, Amorim will enter the 2025-2026 season in a state of instability due to his poor performance last season. But paradoxically, Amorim still shows a lot of power, as he did from the first day he set foot in Old Trafford.
The Portuguese captain also seems to have a bigger voice in Man United's transfer policy. They mainly target players who have proven their abilities in the Premier League and have experience playing in the 3-4-2-1 formation.
It will be interesting to see how the players react to Amorim and whether there will be any more individual conflicts. After all, this is the coach who broke a TV after the loss to Brighton and described his team as the worst in the club's history.
Amorim must be eagerly awaiting the pre-season campaign, as United still have a long way to go to get used to the style of play he wants. This is also an opportunity for Amorim to improve the fitness of the whole team, something he soon realized that it was far behind many other teams in the tournament.
Man United facing four Premier League sides next month will be in Amorim's interest. However, this also puts more pressure, because a series of poor results in the pre-season will create a negative effect.
