Hours after beating Aston Villa 2-0 in the season’s final match, Manchester United hightailed it to the Far East for their post-season tour. Things did not go as planned, to say the least. There had been many dissenting voices on post-season tours and their physical tolls on players in recent months, most notably from Kieran Trippier and Gareth Southgate. However, the Red Devils seemed determined. So, what happened in Asia that was so bad? Let’s recap the team’s first post-season tour of 2025.
The Bus Ride From Hell
Man United’s trip to Asia did not begin on the best note. In what turned out to be a tour bus from hell, four of the club’s players were forced to cruise aimlessly across the streets of Kuala Lumpur as the mildly interested engers trudged by. The roads were open, and there didn’t seem to be any real route planned for the trip.
The four players, who were on the bus to drum up excitement from regular and sportbet fans of the club, smiled and waved half-heartedly at the fans who showed up to take pictures. Meanwhile, “Glory, glory Man United” blared from the heavily branded speakers, calling to notice the team’s lack of trophies.
Boos And A Heartbreaking Loss In Kuala Lumpur
But the bus ride was only the beginning of it. It had to happen because the tour’s first game was missing a whopping 12,000 fans, with tickets going unsold even for that first fixture. And maybe that’s a good thing because the first post-season tour game ended in a defeat for United.
Amorim’s boys were ushered off the pitch by jeers and boos from the crowd that did make it after losing 1-0 to ASEAN All-Stars. It wasn’t just that the team they lost to was a small one, little known on the global stage, but that the loss continued to highlight the club’s loss of glory and lack of wins.
Reports Of Ill Will And Non-participation
Given the start of the tour, it’s no surprise that the players seemed bored and uninterested in the whole event. Fans reported their favorite stars hiding behind dark glasses, never smiling, waving nonchalantly, and even throwing the middle finger toward spectators as Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo reportedly did.
The Argentinian winger was also blamed for being grouchy during shirt gs, refusing media requests, and yawning through his various off-pitch duties. At the end of the tour, on the way to board the plane back home, he tweeted, “Finally.”
A Trip About The Money
It all goes back to the decision to do a post-season tour after a 60-game campaign, which many United players reportedly detested. But if the players didn’t want to do it and the fans weren’t super excited, why did it need to happen? As it turns out, money.
It’s no secret that the Red Devils had a terrible season. The resounding loss and near relegation made their decision to buy a player for £65 million earlier in the year even more ill-advised. According to reports, the Far East tour brought in £10 million for the team. Incentive indeed.
Soured Relationships
The problem is that this money-first approach further hurt the team’s relationship with its fans. Regular and Betway fans who waited all day to watch the first match on the team’s channel were transferred to a pay-walled platform when the game began.
There was also a lot of heavy branding, with even the team’s official announcement of the tour featuring promotional messages for Malaysia Airlines and Maybank Malaysia. This is perhaps why there were even more empty seats at the Hong Kong game, which Man United won 3-1.
Final Thoughts
Reporting on the Far East tour has been far from kind. It’s become clear why Man United planned this tour, and it had very little to do with reconnecting with fans. However, whether or not this hurts their standing with millions of followers across the globe and on betting platforms like Betway remains to be seen.
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