Jose Mourinho 'baseball referees' complaint resurfaces as Man United confirm USA pre-season tour

Manchester United will travel to the United States for their pre-season tour this summer, returning to the country for the first time since Jose Mourinho was in charge.

The Reds have toured America eight times in the last 20 years, but they haven't been there since 2018. Since then, United have twice been to Australia and the Far East, including under Erik ten Hag last summer. There have also been a couple of summers without a tour due to Covid restrictions.

United are set to confirm venues, dates and opponents for games in the next few weeks, with football director John Murtough insisting that it will offer excellent facilities before the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

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The club played matches in Los Angeles, Miami, Michigan, Phoenix and Santa Clara the last time they were in the US. It was a disappointing tour for the Reds and set the tone for an underwhelming campaign that saw Mourinho sacked in November. After one of the games against Liverpool - which United lost 4-1 - the Portuguese coach referred to the officials as "baseball referees".

Despite it only being a pre-season match, Mourinho was frustrated with the defeat to United's Premier League rivals - and made his feelings clear in his post-match press conference.

"The referees were called by the baseball federation, they thought it was a baseball game and they had to deal with a soccer game," he said.

Mourinho appeared annoyed with how the tour was going and insisted that he needed more players ahead of the new domestic campaign.

He added: "I would like two more players. I don't think I will get two. I think I will get one. I gave a list of five. I wait to see if we get one."

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