Liverpool will meet Manchester United in Thailand when their pre-season schedule begins in Bangkok in July.
The Reds will play United in a friendly at the Rajamangala Stadium on July 12 as the two giants of English football look to make the most of a lucrative tour of of Southeast Asia later this year. The exhibition contest - which will see both teams clash for the Bangkok Century Cup - will be the first time Liverpool have visited the region since 2015 under Brendan Rodgers.
The tour also marks the club's first summer outside of Europe since 2019 when they played games across the United States after winning the Champions League. Liverpool have been limited to where they have been able to fly to in recent years because of the pandemic and spent the best part of a month out in Austria and France last year. In 2020, the Reds also stayed near Salzburg for a training camp, but the ending of restrictions allows the club to embark on long-haul flights for lucrative commercial tours once more.
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The Rajamangala Stadium, which holds over 50,000, is viewed as the ideal venue for both United and the Reds to square off in a high-profile friendly known officially as 'The Match' with Liverpool keen to take full advantage of the ability to visit areas like Thailand again.
In 2018, more than 100,000 fans came out to see Liverpool take on United in Michigan as the Reds beat their historic rivals 4-1 in the International Champions Cup. The commercial departments of both clubs are acutely aware of the potential earning ability for a repeat fixture in Asia this summer.
Liverpool's commercial director, Ben Latty, said: “ Pre-season tour is a vitally important time of year for our players to prepare for the upcoming season, and it provides a fantastic opportunity to meet with fans around the world.
“Since the start of the pandemic we’ve been unable to travel for pre-season and so we’re extremely excited to be able to visit our supporters globally once again and compete in games like ‘The Match’.
“This trip to Bangkok will be very special and we’re really looking forward to having as many of our supporters with us along the way.”
Officials at both clubs have been keen to pencil in a glamorous friendly against each other for some time and spoke about two games at Anfield and Old Trafford for the summer of 2021 before those plans had to be shelved.
After United fans had stormed Old Trafford in April last year in protest of owners the Glazer family - an incident which caused the visit from Liverpool to be postponed - key figures from both clubs opted against plans for summer friendly later down the line.
It's unclear if the match will be presented as a one-off fixture at this stage or if Jurgen Klopp and his team will remain in Asia for the 'commercial leg' of their pre-season schedule.
The Reds flew straight to Australia for an all-star friendly following the end of the Premier League season in May 2017, but given the meeting with United is set for mid-July, it is possible the club will line up more games in the region.
The club will look to get involved in a number of local community-based projects and cultural activities during their time in Thailand and tickets for the match go on sale at 10am on Saturday April 2.
