Manchester United to play Barcelona in glamour pre-season friendly in San Francisco (Santa Clara)
Manchester United will play Barcelona in a glamour friendly at the $1.2bn home of the San Francisco 49ers in July.
United have confirmed a pre-season tour of the United States which will see Louis van Gaal’s team play four games in the space of 12 days.
And the clash against Barcelona will see United face the Champions League semi-finalists in the 68,500-capacity Levi’s Stadium - the state of the art base of NFL franchise the 49ers, who moved into the stadium last July.
United played in front of a record crowd against Real Madrid in Michigan last year
It will be the first time United have played against Barcelona since a pre-season friendly at FedEx Field in Washington DC in July 2011.
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Barcelona stars Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are unlikely to figure in the game in San Francisco, however, due to their international commitments during the Copa America in Chile, which runs from June 11 until July 4.
British record signing Angel di Maria and Argentina team-mate Marcos Rojo will also be absent, with United’s Ecuadorean midfielder Antonio Valencia another likely to be rested after the South American championship.
United are returning to the States this summer after playing in front of the biggest-ever crowd for a football game in the country when attracting 109,000 supporters for the friendly against Real Madrid in Ann Arbor’s Big House stadium last July.
United will return to America where they had such a good pre-season last summer
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Van Gaal’s team are also due to play Paris Saint-Germain and Mexican team Club America during their participation in the International Champions Cup.
United, who beat Liverpool in the final in Miami last August, will also play against MLS outfit San Jose Earthquakes.