Manchester clubs will return to China because money talks loudest

The irony from Manchester United’s perspective was that this summer’s tour of China was supposed to cause minimum disruption ahead of the new season.

Jose Mourinho had inherited a significantly shortened itinerary from his predecessor as United manager, Louis van Gaal, who had been at loggerheads with the club’s commercial department after bemoaning the length and logistical challenges of successive pre-season trips to America.

But what was supposed to be a relatively stress-free whistle-stop tour of the world’s most populous country ultimately descended into farce, the cancellation of Monday’s International Champions Cup game against rivals Manchester City in Beijing marking a shambolic end to a chaotic few days.

The freak weather that rendered the pitch at the Bird’s Nest unplayable and a safety hazard may have been some of the worst to hit the Chinese capital for years, but as United and City discovered in Hong Kong three years ago when monsoon downpours wreaked havoc, that is one of the prices you pay for flogging the brand in Asia in rainy season.

It says a lot about the rampant monetisation of football that Mourinho and his City counterpart, Pep Guardiola, no strangers to touring Asia with elite clubs, remain so philosophical about the situation despite the obvious blurring of lines between commercial priorities and purely footballing considerations.

In other circumstances, the abandonment of a game scheduled to be played on a pitch that, even accounting for the weather, did not look fit for purpose might force a rethink in strategy. But the speed with which United and City signalled their commitment to return to China in the future underlined the intensity of football’s modern day brand war.

It is hard to make a sound argument for Mourinho and Guardiola’s players benefiting in football terms from playing in humid conditions on suspect pitches on the other side of the world so close to the new season.

Commercial gain is the common denominator for both clubs in China, where United purport to have 108 million followers and City are forging strong ties. Last year, the City Football Group (CFG), which own City, sold a 13 per cent stake in the business to China Media Capital for £265 million (S$472 million) as part of their ambitious plans for growth in the country.

In the past week alone in Shanghai, United have done major commercial launches with Chevrolet, Tag Heuer and Gulf Oil International and unveiled their new Adidas home kit.

Determined not to be outshone, City had Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri help unveil their new Nike away shirt at the Great Wall of China while other players, including Raheem Sterling, attended a City “football festival” event in the city.

Most players would admit privately that they far prefer touring America, where they often go unnoticed, compared with the mania that invariably greets their arrival in Asia. But they are also acutely aware that, in return for being handsomely remunerated, their contracts stipulate many commercial obligations.

It will take more than a bit of rain to drive the Manchester clubs away from this part of the world. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

James Drucker is the Daily Telegraph’s Northern Football Correspondent