Manchester United risk UEFA anger by playing friendly at the same time as Champions League

Manchester United are looking to fill in the gaps left by the lack of Champions League football by playing lucrative friendlies, but it could come as a risk of offending Europe’s football governing body UEFA.

Having forecasted a 10% loss in next year’s revenue mainly due to a summer spending spree and no European football, the club is trying to tap into its massive global appeal and cut its losses. Managing director Richard Arnold admitted midweek friendlies were “something we continue to look at”.

Speaking on if manager Louis van Gaal was okay with these extra fixtures he said that the Dutchman understands what it takes to run such a massive club.

Arnold said that Van Gaal understood “what’s required to get a first-class team on to the pitch and also what’s required for running a club of our magnitude. I can only speak positively of my experience with the manager in terms of his understanding of what’s required.”

He told The Associated Press: “[Friendlies are] something we continue to look at, as always making sure that the preparations we do on the pitch come first. For many years of our [pre-season] international tours, there is a plan to ensure we get that team building that goes together with getting the team all together in one place. That’s something that’s being looked at with regards to the future [friendlies] with Louis [Van Gaal].”

According to The Guardian, the Middle East would be the most likely destination for any such friendly.

UEFA is known to frown upon clubs playing fixtures which clash with its own competitions. Last year the European governing body last year withheld some of the money it was supposed to give the Football Association for distribution among clubs. FA had to make a payment of £1.1m to UEFA to resolve the issue.