Manchester United stretch loyalty of ‘numbed' Chinese fans to the limit
HONG KONG: Yan Gang speaks for many Manchester United fans when he says: 'We've been numbed by performances over the past few seasons.'
For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
Manchester United once claimed to have more than 100 million followers in China, Yan among them, but like supporters of the club everywhere their loyalty is being put severely to the test.
As an illustration of United's fall from grace in China and beyond, tickets for Friday's friendly at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium against the city's representative team were still available on Thursday afternoon.
Tickets also appeared on resale websites with their prices slashed 50 percent.
United were beaten 1-0 in Malaysia by a Southeast Asian XI on Wednesday and booed off, a fresh low in a dismal season for Ruben Amorim's bedraggled men.
'Every season ends with the same old story with no sign of recovery,' said Yan, a supporter for 23 years and organizer of a United fans' association in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong in mainland China.
Amorim's side left for Asia on Sunday, hours after concluding their worst season since 1974, to play friendlies in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong.
The Old Trafford club made no attempt to hide the motivation for flying across the world straight after a draining and demoralizing campaign that saw them come 15th in the Premier League and fail to lift a trophy.
'Tour fixtures drive significant additional revenue which help make the club stronger, allowing us to keep investing in success on the pitch,' chief executive Omar Berrada said.
This week's Asia visit will generate about $10 million (£7.8m) for United, the BBC reported.
China has the world's second-biggest economy and second-biggest population, making it a vital market.
United's finances are under scrutiny with co-owner Jim Ratcliffe implementing steep cuts since buying a minority stake just over a year ago.
The club recently announced a further 200 redundancies were planned after 250 jobs were cut last year.
Ratcliffe claimed in March that the Red Devils would have 'run out of money at Christmas' otherwise.
From Kuala Lumpur, where it was 32 Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) at kickoff on Wednesday, it is a four-hour flight to a similarly sticky Hong Kong.
July friendlies in the city between Tottenham and Arsenal, and Liverpool and AC Milan, sold out within hours of going on general sale.
No such luck for United for their exhibition match with the Hong Kong team, and with a day until kickoff they face the ignominy of playing in front of empty seats.
The 39-year-old fan Yan said that the United supporters club in Shenzhen has about 2,000 members.
That number has hardly grown in the past few years, he said.
Older fans make up the vast majority of members.
'I can't think of any words we can use to attract new fans because the team has a bad record and no standout stars to recruit younger fans,' said Yan.
He Zhiyi, a United fan for more than a decade, is flying to Hong Kong from the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.
She had hoped to see the squad parade the Europa League trophy, but Amorim's side lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the final.
With it went United's hopes of sneaking into the Champions League, which would have brought badly needed revenue, prestige and pulling power.
'The team is all over the place – players, coaches and management are not moving in one direction,' said the 32-year-old He, a football content creator and author.
'It feels like the team is killing the enthusiasm of the fans, as if the romance can't be sustained anymore.'
Zhang Chongqian, also from Chengdu, said United's 'spirit and traditions' have been lost.
'In recent years, our fans (in China) gradually stopped watching Manchester United or even football,' the 38-year-old lifelong supporter said.
Zhang will not join those fans abandoning his side, even after the poorest season in the club's recent history.
'Manchester United have been experiencing a period of sinking,' he said.
'But there are still so many fans who will never give up on them.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Man United captain Bruno Fernandes rejects $135m Al-Hilal transfer deal, UK media reports
BEIRUT: Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes reportedly turned down a lucrative offer to sign for Saudi Pro League powerhouses Al-Hilal, for 'family and personal' reasons. Though there had been no official word from Al-Hilal about any approach to the player, several British media outlets reported on Tuesday that the 30-year-old rejected a massive deal said to be worth £80 million-£100 million ($108 million-$135 million). BBC Sport said the Portuguese midfielder spent the past few days 'seriously' considering an offer that would have more than doubled what he earns at Old Trafford, where he is already one of the top earners. Having discussed the deal with his family, however, Fernandes told the Saudi club he would not be joining them. Portugal were preparing on Tuesday for their Nation League semifinal against Germany on Wednesday, and with Fernandes expected to participate in the prematch press conference in Munich, it was thought the question of Al-Hilal's interest in him might be raised. Man United were said to be thrilled and relieved by his decision to stay with the club. Head coach Ruben Amorim had said last week that he believed his captain would remain at Old Trafford for the forseeable future. According to the British media reports, there was no direct communication between the two clubs, so United were never presented with any official offer from Al-Hilal that they could turn down. However, the stories suggested the Saudi side were willing to offer Fernandes up to £100 million to sign in time for the FIFA Club World Cup, while will take place in the US between June 14 and July 13. The Mirror newspaper quoted former United star Rio Ferdinand as saying he was delighted that Fernandes decided to remain in England. 'I've got to be honest (it's) the biggest news for me today,' Ferdinand reportedly said on his podcast. Sky Sports said that Al-Hilal offered Fernandes £100 million to join and were willing to almost treble his £250,000-a-week wages, and his decision to turn them down was thought to be both a football and personal one. It was also reported that the player's agent, Miguel Pinho, had visited Riyadh for talks with senior Al-Hilal executives but this could not be independently confirmed. said Fernandes rejected an 'eye-watering' £700,000-a-week move after discussing it with his family and coach. Former United right-back Gary Neville told Sky Sports the transfer would not have been a bad deal, financially, for the Old Trafford club but added: 'He's so important. The fact that he wants to stay, the fact that he wants to go through this and come out the other side — because it would have been easy for him at the end of this season to say, 'Look, I'm done here' — will endear him towards Manchester United fans even more.' Al-Hilal often shares important news through the club's account on social media platform X but there had been no mention of any potential offer to Fernandes.
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Green Falcons finalize preparations for Bahrain World Cup qualifier
DHAHRAN: The Saudi Arabian national football team concluded a key training session on Tuesday evening as preparations intensify for their upcoming AFC World Cup qualifier against Bahrain. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Their crucial qualifier will kick off this Thursday as part of the ninth round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers. Under the guidance of head coach Herve Renard, the Green Falcons trained at Ettifaq Club Stadium in Dammam, with the session featuring warm-ups, passing drills, tactical exercises, and a full-pitch training match between two squads. The team left for Bahrain after the session. On the injury front, players Muhannad Al-Saad and Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti continued their respective rehabilitation programs under the supervision of the national team's medical staff. The squad is scheduled to hold its final training session on Wednesday at Bahrain National Stadium, with the first 15 minutes open to media coverage.
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
South Korea's center-left leader Lee wins presidency
South Korea's center-left leader Lee Jae-myung hailed voters' 'great decision' as he was declared the winner of a snap presidential election early Wednesday, capping months of political chaos. Six months to the day after ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol plunged the country into crisis with his disastrous declaration of martial law, official results from the National Election Commission showed Lee had defeated conservative rival Kim Moon-soo, who had earlier conceded the race. Voter turnout was the highest in nearly three decades. 'I will humbly accept the choice of the people. Congratulations to the elected candidate Lee Jae-myung,' Kim said as the last ballots were still being counted. Lee had earlier thanked voters for placing their trust in him, saying he would do his 'utmost to fulfil the great responsibility and mission entrusted to me, so as not to disappoint the expectations of our people.' In a nod to South Korea's growing partisan divide, exacerbated by the chaos after Yoon's martial law bid, Lee said those that did not support him remained 'fellow citizens' and promised to 'move forward with hope and make a fresh start from this moment on.' He also promised to 'pursue dialogue, communication, and cooperation' between Seoul and its arch-enemy Pyongyang, with which relations plunged to their lowest level in years under Yoon's hawkish approach. Lee will take office almost immediately, as soon as the commission validates the tally, likely early Wednesday. With 96.74 percent of the total ballots counted overnight it was mathematically impossible for Kim to catch him, the official figures showed. Lee will face a bulging in-tray, including global trade vicissitudes chafing the export-driven economy, some of the world's lowest birth rates and an emboldened North Korea rapidly expanding its arsenal. Voter turnout was 79.4 percent – the highest since 1997. An exit poll by the three major broadcasters had earlier projected a victory for Lee, prompting his supporters to break into cheers outside the National Assembly, as party officials watching from inside the parliament started a chant of 'Lee Jae-myung.' For weeks, major polls had put Lee well ahead of Kim – Yoon's labor minister – who struggled with party infighting and failed to convince a third party candidate to unify and avoid splitting the right-wing vote. After months of turmoil and a revolving door of lame-duck acting leaders, many South Koreans said they were eager for the country to move forward. The fallout from Yoon's martial law declaration, which has left South Korea effectively leaderless for the first months of US President Donald Trump's tumultuous second term, was the decisive factor in the election, experts said. The vote was 'largely viewed as a referendum on the previous administration,' Kang Joo-hyun, a political science professor at Sookmyung Women's University, told AFP. Yoon's impeachment over his martial law bid, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament, made him the second straight conservative president to be stripped of office after Park Geun-hye in 2017. 'Lee's victory signals that the Korean public rejects illiberal and undemocratic measures such as martial law,' Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP. 'This moment will likely be remembered as a peculiar and consequential turning point in South Korea's political history.' But Lee's success is due as much to his rivals' failings as his own strengths, said Minseon Ku, a postdoctoral researcher at the William & Mary Global Research Institute. 'Lee has a criminal record and was involved in several political and personal scandals,' Ku said. His rise to the presidency is 'a reflection of the deep political turmoil South Korea has been experiencing'. South Korean presidents serve a single five-year term. Police issued the highest level of alert and deployed thousands of officers to ensure the election plus the upcoming inauguration Wednesday proceed smoothly. Lee – who survived an assassination attempt last year – has been campaigning in a bullet-proof vest and delivering speeches behind a glass protective shield.
