Manchester United will return to Australia for two matches to be played in front of expected bumper crowds at the MCG on the Premier League club’s first overseas pre-season tour since 2019.
The Victorian government on Thursday confirmed the matches in Melbourne against four-time A-League Men champions Melbourne Victory on 15 July and fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace four days later.
United, who are expected to have a new manager in place by July, last visited Australia three years ago, when they faced Leeds United and Perth Glory in Perth.
Disruption due to Covid-19 meant the club has not been able to venture out of the UK on tour since.
That was the fifth time United have toured to Australia, following visits in 1999, when they faced the Socceroos in Melbourne, and in 2013 for an exhibition game in Sydney against an A-League All Stars side.
Matt Busby’s recently crowned champions made United’s first trip to Australia back in 1967, just four days after winning a seventh English title, and the club visited again in 1975.
The MCG has a capacity of 100,000 and given the huge interest in United and their star-studded squad, the Victorian government said it expected the games to attract around 150,000 fans.
“This is a great opportunity to see one of the world’s greatest sporting teams play in Melbourne – the nation’s sporting capital,” Victoria’s minister for employment Jaala Pulford said.
• This article was amended on 1 April 2022 to reflect the fact that Manchester United have toured to Australia five times previously, not three as initially stated.
