When Manchester United went to America in the summer of 2014, all they did was break the attendance record. The drawing power of United, combined with the drawing power of Real Madrid to Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, set a new record for most the supporters to show up at single game on American soil; more than any World Cup or Olympic contest.
United also visited the state of California on that trip, as they did in 2015.
Good things happen, usually, when United comes to America. Last summer they went to China and it was disastrous. United Manager Jose Mourinho will not make that mistake again next summer, as word leaked they’ll train in California for the 2017 preseason. They’ll work out UCLA, the University of California at Los Angeles to be exact.
Jose Mourinho to reportedly take Manchester United to California next summer. https://t.co/8iuNpsHYuD pic.twitter.com/FCE7FcBSME
— theScore (@theScore) December 20, 2016
According to ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden, United is set to train in California next year as part of its preparations for the 2017-18 Premier League season. The Special One is apparently already making plans to use UCLA’s sports facility, which he visited six times over the course of his managerial days at Chelsea, Internazionale, and Real Madrid.
Manchester United will almost certainly use the trip to play a cadre of exhibition fixtures in the International Champions Cup, an event they won in 2014, and could have won again in 2015, had they beat Paris Saint-Germain at Solider Field in Chicago.
Their 2016 tour was a logistical nightmare pretty much the whole way through, with a Manchester Derby having to be cancelled due to player safety issues.
The Red Devils encountered travel/commuter problems of many stripes while also seeing mother nature provide obstructions, seemingly, at almost every turn.
Hopefully, California and its consistently predictable climate, will make sure Manchester United don’t have to deal with weather catastrophes again in 2017.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.