Players from Premier League teams have contacted the PFA, the players’ union, to “express concern” over their involvement in post-season tours, PFA CEO Maheta Molango, has said.
Manchester United returned from a two-game trip to Asia on Saturday after flying out for friendlies in Malaysia and Hong Kong within hours of the club’s final Premier League fixture of the 2024-25 season against Aston Villa on May 25.
In May 2024, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United met in a post-season friendly in Melbourne, Australia, just three days after the final weekend of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign.
Manchester City have also travelled for post-season games in Canada in the United States in recent years.
Sources have told ESPN that United’s trip to Asia last week earned the club £8 million ($10.8m) in appearance fees, but the tour was mired in controversy due to the team’s performances and Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho were both criticised for making obscene gestures to supporters.
But while accepting the need for clubs to maximise revenue streams, speaking at a FIFPRO summit in Munich, PFA CEO Molango said that players are increasingly unhappy at overseas friendly games reducing their rest periods.
“I think we’re all mindful and understand some of the financial dynamics that a club goes through, but the reality is that quite a few players have expressed concern,” Molango said. “We [PFA] have expressed concern about those post-season tours.
“I’m not just talking about Man United, I’m talking in general about that situation and this once again confirms the need of taking a holistic approach to the problem because you are not going to solve it if you just attack one specific competition. You need to be able to take a holistic view.”
While post-season tours for Premier League teams remain relatively rare, pre-season tournaments in Asia and North America have become the norm for high-profile teams in the major leagues.
Some will participate in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup, a month-long tournament in the United States which begins on June 14, while four clubs — United, Everton, Bournemouth and West Ham — will contest the Premier League Summer Series in the US between July 26 and Aug 3.
Champions Liverpool will play games in Hong Kong and Japan, Arsenal will travel to Singapore and Hong Kong and Newcastle and Spurs will meet each other in South Korea.
Molango said that the high-profile fixtures on pre-season tours is also becoming a matter of concern due to the intensity of facing domestic rivals in what are billed as friendly games.
“Because you play derbies sometimes, local derbies going on in the world, you cannot just turn up at a derby with just, you know, with flip flops,” Molango said. “Sometimes I think there’s this misunderstanding.
“Yes it’s about resting, but then having a proper ability to build up to that level of intensity and that level of games.”
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