FOOTBALL: European giants Manchester City, Liverpool and Bayern Munich will all travel to Asia this summer, after a raft of fixtures around the continent were announced on Tuesday (May 16).
From left to right football legends John Barnes of Liverpool FC, Giovane Elber of FC Bayern Munich, Marco Cassetti of AS Roma, Emile Heskey of Leicester City FC and Gary Mabutt of Tottenham Hotspur FC pose with their jerseys during the Singapore Festival of Football press launch in Singapore on Tuesday (May 16). Photo: AFP
Pep Guardiola’s City, who are on the cusp of retaining their Premier League crown, will play his former side Bayern and Japanese champions Yokohama F Marinos in friendlies in Tokyo.
City will face Marinos on July 23 before taking on Bayern three days later, with both games taking place at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
Bayern will also play J-League side Kawasaki Frontale before travelling to Singapore to take on Liverpool on Aug 2.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will play two games in the city state, also squaring off against Leicester City on July 30.
Tottenham Hotspur, who should have a new coach in by then, will travel to Australia, Thailand and Singapore.
In what is their first ever trip to Thailand Spurs will play fellow English Premier League side Leicester in Bangkok on July 23.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said: “We are extremely excited to be making our first ever visit to Thailand and look forward to engaging with our passionate fans.
“As is always the case wherever we visit in the world, our players and staff will be embracing the local culture of Bangkok, supporting good causes and delivering football coaching clinics to leave a lasting, positive legacy.”
Spurs, who are still searching for a full-time manager to replace Antonio Conte, will face West Ham in Perth on July 18, before travelling to Bangkok to play Leicester on July 23.
They round their tour off with a game against former coach Jose Mourinho’s Roma in Singapore on July 26.
Thai-owned Leicester City, who are fighting for survival in the English top flight, currently sit 19th in the Premier League.
With only two matches left, the Foxes must get results and hope other results go their way to avoid the drop.
Leicester shocked the football world by winning the Premier League title in 2016. They also won the FA Cup in 2021.
Newly crowned Spanish champions Barcelona are also coming to Asia.
They face Andres Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe in Tokyo on June 6, just days after they complete their league season.
Scottish champions Celtic also visit Japan this summer, taking on coach Ange Postecoglou’s former team Marinos in Yokohama on July 19.
