Manchester Derby in Beijing called off

United boss Jose Mourinho also had to hold his prematch news conference by the side of the training pitch because of the heat and cramped conditions in the press room.

Mourinho had voiced his concerns over the risky playing surface even before the announcement of the cancellation was made.

‘It’s a problem for me, bad conditions for my players to train and bad conditions for my players to play.

According to the Sun, Mourinho will allow the playmaker to continue his career in Manchester, but only if he is willing to play once in every three games.

Guardiola was quick to bat away questions over his relationship with Mourinho, though, and sees no reason why there will be anything but a “really friendly game” in the Chinese capital.

Both teams have one pre-season match left, with City taking on Borussia Dortmund in the final International Champions Cup match at the Shanzhen Stadium on Thursday and United travelling to Gothenburg, Sweden, to take on Galatasaray on Saturday. It is not a problem for me to lose matches in pre-season.

However, following torrential rainfall in Beijing over the course of the last week, the two clubs became concerned about the quality of the Bird’s Nest’s playing surface and, after consultation with tournament organisers, have agreed to cancel the match.

The joint decision aims to ensure the safety of players and fans, according to Tencent Sports.

“We thank all parties who contributed to the planned staging of this match, in particular the tens of thousands of fans who committed to purchasing tickets”. We appreciate the fans’ devotion and our partners support.

Mourinho admitted he can not wait to get back to Manchester and begin training with his full complement of players.

Mourinho said: “The pitch is very bad and the pitch and condition of my players is more important in pre-season”.

“We had our groundsman working for 10 days on the pitch, but the conditions were just too risky for the players”, said Kompany Monday on the club’s website.

As a result of the cancellation, there will be no longer be a tournament victor of the International Champions Cup in China.