Ineos have just made their worst decision since taking over Manchester United, it’s a pure money-grab

Manchester United needs less games, not more, and Ineos’ most recent choice is disheartening.

Inconvenient but lucrative preseason tours have ruined Manchester United’s preparations for the past two years.

Before a terrible season marred by injuries, United played eight preseason games in five different nations in 2023, and players complained about the travel schedule.

With United returning to the US in 2024, the itinerary was a little more condensed. Like Kobbie Mainoo the previous year, Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro were injured throughout the trip, which was regrettable.

Unlucky? Indeed. The organization and planning of these tours, however, might use some work, and the club should acknowledge that a lucrative preseason is beneficial to its bottom line.

The lucrative post-season tours were the one thing United had abandoned. So far.

Reasons for Manchester United’s upcoming postseason tour
In recent seasons, clubs have turned to post-season tours as their newest source of revenue. Newcastle and Tottenham are two of the teams that have done so.

Spurs and Newcastle’s trip to Australia last year was absurd, as the A-League All-Stars crushed an undermanned Newcastle team 8-0.

Following the conclusion of the Premier League season, Manchester United is currently scheduled to go to Malaysia for a friendly match. This comes before to another anticipated preseason trip to the United States.

There is at least the justification that preseason games are important for players’ minutes in order to increase their level of fitness before the start of the season.

Simply said, post-season tours are a money-grab. According to reports from The Athletic, Manchester United may receive £8 million from the postseason preparations.

Ineo’s worst choice to date
With no advantages for the players, Manchester United’s postseason tour is a cynical business gimmick. After a long season, there is an increased chance of injury.

Since there isn’t a summer tournament in 2025, it would be OK if there is a year to do it. However, do you genuinely think that this will just happen once and not again in 2026, 2027, 2028, and so forth?

For United, 2024–2025 has been looking like a challenging season. Further prolongation is not recommended. The additional time off could help the staff and players regroup and concentrate in preparation for 2025–2026.

Fresh financiers In order to cope with the challenging financial circumstances, Ineos has started making reductions at the club.

And from that angle, it makes sense that they would be tempted by the simple win of a few million dollars from a postseason game.

For the numerous Manchester United supporters in Malaysia, this is wonderful news, but why not just go there during preseason instead?

It’s possible that United will rest a large number of first team players for the trip, which could leave supporters dissatisfied that they won’t be seeing the major names.

It is unfortunate that Manchester United has adopted post-season tours, one of the contemporary features of sport that we dislike.