Manchester United could be coming to Dublin this summer for a pre-season friendly - but the match going ahead will depend on the result of this weekend's FA Cup final against Manchester City.
With the 2022-23 season wrapping up with the FA Cup and Champions League final over the coming two weekends, eyes are already turning to next season, with Premier League teams confirming their pre-season schedules.
Manchester United will return to the USA for their pre-season tour, with additional games in Oslo, Edinburgh, and London - and reports have suggested that a game in Dublin could also be on the cards.
Manchester United: Potential Dublin friendly dependent on FA Cup final
The BBC's Manchester United writer Alex Turk shared the club's full pre-season schedule late last week, with games against Arsenal, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, and Wrexham on the cards on a nine-day tour of the United States in July.
Intriguingly, Turk also suggested that they could play an additional friendly en route back to the UK on August 5, with Dublin the proposed venue.
The Dublin friendly would be played the day before another game in England, mirroring United's pre-season schedule from last summer, in which they played friendlies with different squads on successive days in Oslo and at Old Trafford.
✈️ United’s full pre-season schedule…
🇳🇴 Jul 12: Leeds (Oslo)
🏴Jul 19: Lyon (Edinburgh)
🇺🇸Jul 22: Arsenal (New Jersey)
🇺🇸Jul 25: Wrexham (San Diego)
🇺🇸Jul 26: Real Madrid (Houston)
🇺🇸Jul 30: Borussia Dortmund (Las Vegas)
🇮🇪 Aug 5: TBC (Dublin)
🏴 Aug 6: Old Trafford/Wembley— Alex Turk (@AlexCTurk) May 25, 2023
With the Premier League season getting underway on August 12, however, it is more than likely that the Community Shield will be pencilled in for the weekend before, falling on either August 5 or 6 at Wembley.
If Manchester United were to win Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester City, they would play the Citizens once again in the Community Shield - presumably why the Dublin and Old Trafford friendlies listed above have yet to be publicly confirmed by the club.
Alex Turk confirmed in a reply to a fan that the Dublin friendly would be unlikely to go ahead should United qualify for the Community Shield.
Yeah.
If United are in the Community Shield, the Dublin friendly probably won’t go ahead.
But if United lose the cup final there should be back-to-back games at Dublin and Old Trafford that weekend. Like vs Atletico & Vallecano last year.— Alex Turk (@AlexCTurk) May 25, 2023
One would presume that the friendly would be played at the Aviva Stadium should United visit Ireland - however, the Irish rugby team are scheduled to play Italy at the stadium on August 5 in a warm-up game for the Rugby World Cup.
That would leave Croke Park as a potential venue - with the intercounty GAA season set to conclude on July 30 with the All-Ireland football final at the stadium.
Alternatively, United could be set to play a friendly against a League of Ireland club, akin to what Chelsea did in 2019 when they played two games against St. Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians as part of their pre-season campaign.
10 July 2019; Ian Maatsen of Chelsea in action against Dawson Devoy of Bohemians during a friendly match between Bohemians and Chelsea at Dalymount Park in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Manchester United have played two friendlies in the Aviva Stadium since its opening in 2010, with the first football game at the stadium seeing United face a League of Ireland all-star XI.
They most recently visited in 2017 for a pre-season friendly against Italian side Sampdoria, which they won 2-1. Only four players who featured that day still play for the club - David de Gea, Victor Lindelof, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford.
2 August 2017; Marcus Rashford of Manchester United in action against Vasco Regini of Sampdoria during the International Champions Cup match between Manchester United and Sampdoria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
The prospect of Manchester United visiting Dublin this summer will no doubt be exciting for their Irish fanbase - but there are a number of factors which will need to be resolved before the fixture can be confirmed.
Manchester United face local rivals Manchester City in this weekend's FA Cup final, with the game kicking off at Wembley at 3pm on Saturday.
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