TOKYO
\nManchester United and Liverpool will next week kick off a packed pre-season as European clubs return to the Asia-Pacific region for the first time since the pandemic, keen to tap back into lucrative markets.
\nThe English Premier League heavyweights face off in Bangkok on Tuesday for new United manager Erik ten Hag\u2019s first game against Jurgen Klopp\u2019s side, who threatened to win a historic quadruple last season before being pipped by Manchester City to the Premier League crown and losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain and their superstar players Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will go to Japan later this month with a new manager, Christophe Galtier, in charge after his appointment this week to succeed Mauricio Pochettino.
\nTottenham Hotspur and Premier League Golden Boot winner Son Heung-min, Asia\u2019s most succesful player, are bound to receive a rapturous reception when they play two matches in South Korea next week.<\/p>\n
And Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Leeds United will fly to Singapore and Australia as clubs reconnect with their global fans after being grounded by virus restrictions since 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been very challenging time for all clubs for the past two years,\u201d said PSG\u2019s Asia-Pacific managing director Sebastien Wasels, whose club will play three games against J-League sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that it was difficult for our fans all over the world not to have the opportunity to see the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thai fans of Liverpool and Manchester United will get an unprecedented chance to watch the historic rivals on their own doorstep when they meet at Bangkok\u2019s 51,000-capacity Rajamangala Stadium.<\/p>\n
But many will be disappointed to be waking up Friday to the news that unsettled Cristiano Ronaldo will not be making the trip with United, after the striker was given additional time off to deal with a family issue.<\/p>\n
Asian sport marketing expert Marcus Luer, who brokered the deal to bring the teams to Thailand, said the game would be \u201cthe single biggest football match ever hosted in Asia, bar none\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no Korean pop band, or any other football club for that matter, which would be bigger than those two clubs coming here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fans will have to pay a heavy price to see their heroes such as Liverpool\u2019s Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk or United\u2019s Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire, with the cheapest tickets selling for an eye-watering 5,000 baht ($140).<\/p>\n
Manchester United fan Bhuwit Panjarattanakorn, 27, said he was looking forward to taking photos of the players at their hotel but he did not plan to buy a ticket because they were \u201ctoo expensive\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a friendly match and it doesn\u2019t guarantee you\u2019d see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing the whole match,\u201d he said, even before it was revealed the Portuguese superstar would not be on the plane to Bangkok.<\/p>\n
Manchester United will move on after the game to Australia, where they will play Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.<\/p>\n
Liverpool will face Crystal Palace in Singapore, while Leeds United and Villa will compete in the Queensland Champions Cup in Australia alongside local team Brisbane Roar.<\/p>\n
Tottenham, who have the captains of both the South Korea men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams on their books, will take on a K-League select team in Seoul, and Spain\u2019s Sevilla in Suwon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TOKYO Manchester United and Liverpool will next week kick off a packed pre-season as European clubs return to the Asia-Pacific region for the first time since the pandemic, keen to tap back into lucrative markets. The English Premier League heavyweights face off in Bangkok on Tuesday for new United manager Erik ten Hag\u2019s first game […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-270672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n