Manchester United will play four pre-season friendly matches this summer, none of which are against a Maltese team.

Despite rumours that the Premier League giants will be making the trip to Malta for one of its pre-season friendlies, Manchester United just announced its four matches, all of which are taking place in the United Kingdom.

Manchester United will play Derby County, QPR, Brentford and Everton throughout the months of July and August.

Earlier this month, a report in the Manchester Evening News claimed that the Red Devils could be playing in Malta on 3rd August.

However, all hopes have been dashed with the club’s announcement made earlier today.

Moreover, Malta still has yet to be green listed for travel by the UK, meaning anyone travelling back from the island would have to quarantine for 14 days.

This could change as of today, with the UK expecting to update its green list countries yet again.

Manchester United have played in Malta before, most recently in 2000, when they beat Birkirkara 5-1, with Joe Brincat scoring a fantastic long-range effort for the Maltese team.

In 2019, Malta had signed a multi-million dollar partnership with the Red Devils that saw the island become the football club’s official destination partner. As part of the deal, the Malta Tourism Authority would advertise the ‘Visit Malta’ brand and banners across Old Trafford. 

The three-year deal provoked controversy following claims that it would cost Malta’s taxpayers close to €20 million. It was further scrutinized following Mizzi’s resignation as Tourism Minister amidst corruption claims and Malta’s wider political scandal towards the end of 2019. 

It is unclear whether Malta Tourism Authority plans to renew the deal, with a spokesperson stating that developments on the deal will be announced over the coming weeks.

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