Juan Mata and Manchester United travel to China today to carry out their pre-season tour. They will take on Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City during their time in the Asian country.
Having travelled to the USA in 2015, China will be the country responsible for hosting Manchester United’s expedition in the summer of 2016. This year’s tour represents a new challenge for Juan as the Asturian has never been to China. However, speaking to Manchester United’s official website, he failed to hide his desire and excitement at the prospect of carrying out this tour in the Asian country: “Personally I have never been before so it will be my first time and I’m looking forward to feeling all the support and love from our fans in China. I know we have a lot of fans there.”
Manchester United will travel on Tuesday to China, where they will continue to prepare for the crucial season that awaits them. It’s a great opportunity to continue training in the optimum manner, which will allow them to perform at the maximum level in the coming weeks.
In China, Mata will take part in two more pre-season friendlies. Both matches form part of the International Champions Cup. This Friday in Shanghai, Juan will face Borussia Dortmund, while on Monday July 25 he will lock horns with Manchester City in the second and final match of the summer tournament. Even though the derby will take place in China, it will remain a special match for the Spanish footballer. “It’ll be special for sure. There are a lot of supporters for United and City in China. It’ll be a different derby but it’ll nice for the fans,” he said.
After an intense week of work in China, United will return to Europe to finalise their preparation ahead of their first official competitive match of the season: the FA Community Shield clash against Leicester on August 7.
