As the final sprint of the 2025-2026 season kicks off this weekend, with the World Cup to follow, preparations for the 2026-2027 campaign are already underway. The Athletic has announced Manchester United’s preseason friendlies ahead of the Premier League kicks off on Saturday, August 22. Paris Saint-Germain is also on the schedule, with Ligue 1 starting the same weekend as in England.
As the 2026 World Cup is in North America, regularly visited by United on more lucrative pre-season tours, the squad are staying closer to home and will spend more time training at Carrington than anywhere else.
The team plan to go back and forward to play games against Wrexham in Helsinki, Finland on July 18, Rosenborg in Trondheim, Norway on July 24, Atletico Madrid in Stockholm, Sweden on August 1, Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenborg, Sweden on August 8, Leeds United at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland on August 12 and AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland on August 15. United did have interest from Asia for staging some friendlies there but seem to have decided against that.
We suspect that the sports media isn’t being so precise by chance; these matches are likely predetermined. Manchester United has a challenging schedule, and we know that PSG will have at least one prestigious opponent. We’ll have to wait to see the rest of the schedule, during which they’ll have to adapt to the varying returns of players depending on their performance at the World Cup. At least this time, the Parisians will have time to prepare.
