Manchester United will remain in Europe for the first time in 24 years after announcing their 2026-27 preseason fixtures. With this summer’s World Cup sending most of the squad to the United States, Canada and Mexico, the club has decided to keep the team in Europe.

United confirmed earlier this month that their summer would end with a friendly against Leeds United in Dublin on Aug. 12, and four further fixtures have been revealed. The schedule includes:

– Wrexham, July 18, Helsinki, Finland
– Rosenborg, July 24, Trondheim, Norway
– Atlético Madrid, Aug. 1, Stockholm, Sweden
– PSG, Aug. 8, Gothenberg, Sweden
– Leeds United, Aug. 12, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

“Following the announcement of our match against Leeds United in Dublin, we’re excited to confirm four more preseason fixtures in the Nordics,” director of football Jason Wilcox said. “We’re delighted to be playing in some fantastic cities, against opponents who will provide a strong test for us.

“We have the best fans in the world, and this schedule gives us a great opportunity to connect with our supporters across Europe. We’re really looking forward to getting out there and putting in the hard work ahead of a big season.”

The timing of the World Cup has created a cramped calendar. Players will have limited rest between the end of the domestic season and the tournament, which begins on June 11. Those who progress deeply in the World Cup will remain active until mid-July, almost three weeks after United usually start preseason training at their Carrington home base.

That congestion is underlined by the fact United’s first friendly, against Wrexham in Finland, takes place one day before the World Cup final. The club has acknowledged that a reduced squad will travel for that fixture.

Manchester United have reportedly kept Southampton midfielder Shea Charles on their radar as a budget-friendly alternative should Manuel Ugarte depart this summer. The Daily Mail says United’s recruitment team is monitoring a wide set of options and could turn to lower-cost targets if a failure to secure Champions League football limits transfer funds.

United remain expected to pursue top-market replacements for Casemiro, with Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba among those linked, each valued in the nine-figure bracket. That route remains likely while United hold a strong grip on third place in the domestic table and European qualification is still in sight.

Charles is a local product, born and raised in Manchester after 12 years on the Etihad Campus with Manchester City. He made one first-team appearance for City before departing in 2023 to Southampton, at a time when current United director of football Jason Wilcox was in charge at the Saints. The 22-year-old Northern Ireland international, eligible through his mother, is valued at $26.5 million (£20 million).

Last season Charles did not feature for Southampton in the Premier League despite being part of the promotion campaign; a change of system restricted his opportunities and he spent the season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. He has returned to Southampton as they pursue promotion again. In the FA Cup on Saturday he was a second-half substitute as the Saints knocked Arsenal out, and he scored the late winning goal.

If United formalise interest in Charles they would face competition from Everton and two other unnamed Premier League clubs. Rangers would like to be involved but cannot financially compete with the English clubs.

Ugarte’s Manchester United career has not gone to plan. He emerged at Sporting CP as a lynchpin of Ruben Amorim’s successful team, moved to Paris Saint-Germain for significant money, produced a strong start that later faded, yet still attracted United interest in the summer of 2024.

Patrice Evra has described a transfer window that never was, revealing that Sir Alex Ferguson told him Manchester United were almost certain to sign both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale ahead of the 2013–14 season. Evra said the information came directly from Ferguson and that the manager’s sudden decision to step down came as a major surprise.

Evra recalled meeting Ferguson one week before the retirement and said what he heard left him baffled. “I went to Ferguson’s office, and he said, ‘Patrice, 99 per cent, Cristiano Ronaldo is coming and I’m going to bring Gareth Bale too. And those people who think I’m going to retire? I’m going to retire when I’m maybe 100-years-old.’ I couldn’t understand [the retirement]. It was a big shock.”

Those proposed moves did not materialise after a double change of manager and chief executive that summer. David Gill also left United that summer and Ed Woodward moved into the equivalent role, a transition that the club later found difficult to manage in transfer windows.

The potential consequences were significant for both clubs. Ronaldo had been sold to Real Madrid in a world-record transfer in 2009, and a return to United in 2013 would have taken him away from the Santiago Bernabéu before his peak years. He later played a central role in Real Madrid’s Champions League successes in 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18 and was instrumental in La Décima in 2013–14. Bale, who confirmed United interest in 2013 and that a bigger fee was offered, nevertheless maintained he always wanted Real Madrid and also contributed to those European triumphs.

For United the missed rebuild mattered. Ferguson’s squad in 2013 was ageing but remained strong, and there was no immediate mass exodus when he left. With senior defenders approaching the end of their careers, the planned rejuvenation might have sustained the team and even refreshed figures such as a 27-year-old Wayne Rooney. The club did see a steep decline, falling from Premier League champions to seventh within a year, and a late capture of Marouane Fellaini came to symbolise a loss of transfer efficiency. Evra’s account to The Athletic underlines how close the club came to a very different summer of 2013.