United, who prepared for the current season with a five-game tour of Canada, the United States and Mexico in July, are due to make a decision within the next month on their plans for next summer. But the prospect of United and Barca meeting on July 30 for the first time since the 2009 Champions League final in Rome, which United lost, is likely to prove hugely lucrative for both clubs due to the growing interest in the game in the United States.
With Sir Alex Ferguson’s tour squad expected to be at full-strength due to the absence a major international tournament next year, the club have also received money-spinning offers to tour the Far East, with fixtures in Malaysia, China and Indonesia under consideration.
United’s most recent tour of the Asia in 2009, when they played in Malaysia, South Korea and China, was marred by the cancellation of a fixture in Indonesia due to a bomb attack on the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta, just 24 hours before the team were due to check-in to that hotel.
It is understood that a return to the USA next summer is most likely, however, with Ferguson being impressed by the training facilities throughout the trip, plus the competitive nature of the friendlies played during the three-week tour. United’s close ties with kit manufacturers Nike, and their Chicago-based shirt sponsor Aon, are also set to influence where the club chooses to tour in preparation for the 2011-12 campaign.ends.
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