JAKARTA - Players from the Premier League team have contacted the PFA (Professional Footballers' Association), the professional union, to express concerns over their involvement in the post-season tour.
Manchester United returned from a two-match trip to Asia on Saturday, May 31, 2025. They flew for friendly matches in Malaysia and Hong Kong hours after the club's last Premier League match for the 2024/2025 season against Aston Villa on May 25, 2025, local time.
In May 2024, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United met in a post-season friendly match in Melbourne, Australia, just three days after the final week of the 2023/2024 Premier League season.
Manchester City has also traveled for post-season matches in Canada and the United States in recent years.
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ESPN reported that Manchester United's trip to Asia last week earned 8 million pounds.
However, the tour was covered in controversy over the appearance of the team and Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho were both criticized for carrying out obscene movements against supporters.
Despite acknowledging the need for clubs to maximize revenue streams, speaking at a top FIFPRO meeting in Munich, PFA CEO Maheta Molanga said players were increasingly unhappy with friendly matches abroad that reduced their rest time.
"I think we are all aware of and understand some of the financial dynamics experienced by a club."
"However, the reality is that quite a number of players have expressed concern. We (PFA) have expressed concern about the post-season tour."
"I'm not just talking about Manchester United, I speak in general about the situation."
"This once again confirms the need to take a holistic approach to the problem because you will not solve it if you only attack one particular competition. You must be able to see it holistically," said Molanga.
Although post-season tours for the Premier League team are still relatively rare, pre-season tournaments in Asia and North America have become commonplace for top teams in major leagues.
Some will participate in the 2025 Club World Cup, a month-long tournament in the United States starting on June 14, 2025.
Meanwhile, four clubs --Manchester United, Everton, Bournemouth, and West Ham -- will compete in the Premier League Summer Series in America between July 26 and August 3, 2025.
Liverpool will play in Hong Kong and Japan, Arsenal will travel to Singapore and Hong Kong, while Newcastle and Spurs will meet each other in South Korea.
Molanga said that the top match on the pre-season tour was also a matter of concern because of the intensity of facing domestic rivals in friendly matches.
"Because you sometimes play derbys, local derbys that take place around the world, you can't just come to the derby with just, you know, flip-flops," Molanga said.
"Sometimes I think there is this misunderstanding. Yes, it's about taking a break, but then it has the right ability to build up to the level of intensity and level of the game," he said again.
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