29 January 2024 , 18:27
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Premier League giants Liverpool, Manchester United, and Arsenal will all head to North America this summer for pre-season.
The United States has been a popular pre-season destination for Premier League teams in the past, with Arsenal and United facing off last year in New Jersey. Erik ten Hag's team beat Arsenal 2-0 at MetLife Stadium, and United later went on to face Wrexham and Real Madrid as part of their North American tour.
Arsenal played Barcelona and were the opposing team for the MLS All-Star Game, both of which they won after scoring five goals. United and Arsenal will play Liverpool in the United States this summer in their first pre-season without Jurgen Klopp since 2016.
All three Premier League heavyweights are owned by American businessmen, but Liverpool haven't played in the United States since 2019. Their last tour saw them play in New York, Indiana, and Boston, the latter being familiar to owners Fenway Sports Group as they also have control of MLB team Boston Red Sox.
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Arsenal are owned by Stan Kroenke, who also owns NBA Champions Denver Nuggets, NFL team Los Angeles Rams, NHL team Colorado Rapids, and also MLS side Colorado Rapids. The Gunners beat Barcelona 5-3 at SoFi Stadium last summer, where the Rams play their home games.
United are regulars in the United States due to the Glazer family residing there, and also owning NFL team Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They played Wrexham at the Snapdragon stadium in San Diego last pre-season, and will play another game there this summer as part of the club’s agreement for Qualcomm who are partnered with Snapdragon.
Liverpool will have a new manager in place for 2024 pre-season, with Klopp announcing he would leave the club at the end of the season. Star defender Virgil van Dijk has also expressed doubts over his future with Klopp moving on, creating a headache for their incoming head coach and tough matchups against Arsenal and United to start their reign.
Aston Villa played Brentford in front of a sell-out crowd in Maryland, USA last summerMore fans flocked to stadiums showcasing Premier League clashes than ever before last summer, as the inaugural Premier League Summer Series was hosted. A reported 260,000 tickets were sold as Chelsea, Brighton, Brentford, Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa participated in the first series, in games held across Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, New Jersey and Maryland.
However, the Summer Series will not take place in 2024, due to complications which include broadcasting rights. The Premier League wish to sell the rights as a collective package for fans to tune in from the UK, but most teams already offer subscription services on their own websites which include access to pre-season games.
The Summer Series was a long-term motive to get more American fans involved with the Premier League, and their vision was justified last summer as ticket sales exceeded their expectations. But clubs are reportedly reluctant to surrender the revenue generated from broadcasting their own pre-season games, which is slowing down the project put in place by the Premier League to maximise exposure.