Yan Gang spoke for many Manchester United fans when he said: “We’ve been numbed by performances over the past few seasons.”
Manchester United once claimed to have more than 100 million followers in China, Yan among them, but like supporters of the club everywhere, their loyalty is being put severely to the test.
As an illustration of United’s fall from grace in China and beyond, tickets for today’s friendly at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium against the territory’s representative team were still available yesterday afternoon.
Photo: AFP
Tickets also appeared on resale Web sites with their prices slashed 50 percent.
United were beaten 1-0 in Malaysia by a Southeast Asian XI on Wednesday and booed off, a fresh low in a dismal season for Ruben Amorim’s bedraggled men.
“Every season ends with the same old story with no sign of recovery,” said Yan, a supporter for 23 years and organizer of a United fans’ association in Shenzhen.
Amorim’s side left for Asia on Sunday, hours after concluding their worst season since 1973-1974, to play friendlies in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong.
The Old Trafford club made no attempt to hide the motivation for flying across the world straight after a draining and demoralizing campaign that saw them finish 15th in the Premier League and fail to lift a trophy.
“Tour fixtures drive significant additional revenue which help make the club stronger, allowing us to keep investing in success on the pitch,” chief executive Omar Berrada said.
This week’s Asia visit will generate about US$10 million for United, the BBC reported.
From Kuala Lumpur, where it was 32°C at kickoff, it is a four-hour flight to a similarly sticky Hong Kong.
July friendlies in the territory between Tottenham Hotpsur and Arsenal, and Liverpool and AC Milan, sold out within hours of going on general sale.
No such luck for United for their exhibition match with the Hong Kong team.
The 39-year-old Yan said that the United supporters club in Shenzhen has about 2,000 members, a number that has hardly grown in the past few years.
“I can’t think of any words we can use to attract new fans, because the team has a bad record and no standout stars to recruit younger fans,” Yan said.
Zhang Chongqian, also from Chengdu, said United’s “spirit and traditions” have been lost.
“In recent years, our fans [in China] gradually stopped watching Manchester United or even football,” he said.
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