Manchester United V City Match Called Off

The promoters of the International Champions Cup now face having to refund 50,000 fans who had bought tickets and it is a huge blow for the two Manchester clubs in their battle to win hearts and minds in football-mad China. You can’t go outside without seeing people glued to their phones trying to catch ’em all, but Jose Mourinho would apparently prefer his Manchester United players aren’t among them.

According to The Daily Star, a source close to Mourinho said that, while he has been settling in well and is happy with his team, there is one area of concern that he has: Pokemon Go.

The development topped off a pre-season trip for United that ended chaotically, with organisation as bad as the weather meaning Mourinho just wants to get his players home in one piece.

But heavy rain in Beijing has left the pitch totally unplayable, with Manchester United revealing on Twitter that “tournament organisers and participating clubs have chose to cancel” the encounter.

Guardiola was similarly blunt when asked what he wanted from the match.

“We know our fans in China will, like the players and staff, be saddened by the cancellation of the match but I am sure they appreciate that the player safety has to be the top priority”, Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice chairman said.

City skipper Kompany said: “It’s sad for us, it’s sad for our fans”. We appreciate the fans’ devotion and our partners support.

The cancellation of the game is the latest blow in a farcical tour of China for United, with the Reds unlikely to return to the country for some time, given the many problems they have faced here.

Half of Mourinho’s players were caught on a plane on Saturday which had to make a forced landing in Tianjin because of a violent storm in Beijing. The players eventually made it to the team hotel in Beijing at 1:00 am.

The meeting between the two Manchester giants, which was scheduled to be held on Monday afternoon (UK time), was billed as more than just another derby between the two clubs.

This year’s three-match ICC China tournament involved three teams – Manchester United, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund.