Manchester United in Kuala Lumpur: Defeat, boos and… an open-top bus?

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To travel the public walkways around National Stadium Bukit Jalil three hours ahead of Manchester United’s first game of this whistlestop tour was to be reminded of the enduring appeal of a club that finished the Premier League campaign with 18 defeats in 15th place.

Logic dictates that a team so bad should not command an audience of this scale 6,600 miles away from home, but to weave through the masses of red shirts was to comprehend how football support is irrational.

This was United in Kuala Lumpur, a world away from Old Trafford. Instead of burger vans, there was the aroma of nasi lemak, the national dish, goat curry and satay skewers. The setting may have been different, but the crowd of 72,550, who rarely, if ever, get to see their team in the flesh were at least given an authentic Manchester United experience.

Once again, Ruben Amorim shook his head and flapped his arm on the touchlines as his players toiled in the final third without penetration, so that for the second Wednesday in succession, United were forced to watch another team lift a trophy.

The Maybank Challenge Cup is not quite as prestigious as the Europa League, but nonetheless the stony faces on the United players spoke to another blow to their egos. Twice they tried to leave the pitch before the ceremony was complete.

David Harrison, United’s outgoing director of football operations, had to usher Chido Obi away from the tunnel after the team had completed a lap of applause, and then, after the runners-up medals had been handed out, Carlos Fernandes chased Casemiro so that he returned to see the ASEAN All Stars presented with the silverware.

Man United’s starting XI (Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images)

It was all rather excruciating, given the bruises from Bilbao are still pronounced. This season of despair is being extended into an embarrassing epilogue.

There was one difference, though. United’s performance got booed at the final whistle. It had a tone of disappointment rather than anger, and claps followed, but it was telling that even these supporters, so eager to be positive, felt compelled to acknowledge the negative.

It was something Amorim backed, and even suggested might be welcome at Old Trafford next season. “I feel always guilty of the performance of the team since I am here in the first game,” he said. “The boos from the fans, maybe it is something we need because every game that we lost in the Premier League they were always there. Let’s see for next season.”

The result was decided when Maung Maung Lwin, the Myanmar captain, who plays for Thai side Lamphun Warriors, broke into the box down United’s left and found a neat finish past Tom Heaton. It could have been worse for United had academy player Jim Thwaites not made a last-ditch tackle in a one-on-one during added time.

United made substitutions in the first period, changed the entire XI at half-time, and were clearly suffering after a 14-hour flight and in 36-degree temperatures. Two water breaks were needed. But ASEAN All Stars, a mixed team pulled together from the 10 countries in the region, also rotated their whole side and are, of course, supposed to be several rungs below in terms of quality. But they kept United at bay and carried a sting on the counter.

It was a far cry from United’s game in this stadium during the 2001 pre-season tour when they thrashed another all-star XI 6-0 in a line-up that featured David Beckham, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs among other big names. The atmosphere then was rapturous.

Man United’s starting XI in the same stadium in 2001 (Allsport UK/Getty Images)

This occasion was not a sell-out, with some 12,000 seats left empty, but as well as the absence of real draws aside from one or two players, that can in part be attributed to the pricing. The first tranche of tickets were very reasonable, less than £8, but the most expensive topped 1,500 Malaysian Ringgit, the equivalent to £260 — a month’s salary for the average person.

Andre Onana was, curiously, among those who gained the most attention, with fans chanting his name from the warm-up. The loudest cheers were reserved for when the announcer read out Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho, who both played the entire second half.

Fernandes tried to bring the entertainment by flicking a rabona, while Garnacho attempted to take on defenders, and there was audible excitement when he got the ball, but he also looked exhausted, more than once sinking to his knees in the way that Amorim does when he gets low to the pitch. Garnacho had a particularly wayward shot that flew high over the bar that summed up his night.

If this is to be one of his last appearances in a United shirt, as seems very likely, it would be a sad denouement to a bright career at the club.

Jack Moorhouse, Reece Munro, Sekou Kone, Tyler Fletcher, Shea Lacey, Jaydan Kamason, Godwill Kukonki, Daniel Armer and Thwaites all featured for the first time at this senior level, which Amorim thinks will give them an impression of the pressure that comes with playing for United.

Nobody is pretending this journey across the globe is for sporting performance. The United executives who have travelled all have a strong commercial element to their jobs, with chief executive Omar Berrada, joined by chief business officer Marc Armstong, and chief operating officer Collette Roche. Technical director Jason Wilcox is not here.

Fans before the match started (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)

United arrived at the W Hotel, their base for this leg of the trip, at around 8pm local time on Monday, and a crowd of a few dozen had formed from three hours beforehand. They were left disgruntled when the players, who needed to get fed and sleep, largely failed to acknowledge them on their way in.

Te-J Constant had flown over from England for this tour with his six-year-old son, who was in tears. Joshua Zirkzee encouraged a smile by firing back his gun celebration.

After grumbles about some of the hotels United stayed in during the season, there could be few complaints about the W, a chain owned by United sponsor Marriott. A shimmering gold vending machine dispensed miniature bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne, though United, of course, have had no cause to pop corks this season.

A few feet away, in the hotel’s Living Room bar, Berrada and Armstrong took a business meeting, and with United deprived of the revenue for competing in the Champions League, not to mention the corresponding £10m cut to Adidas’ £90m-per-year kit deal, bridging that gap will be a major focus of their work.

Before training, United players took part in four simultaneous events with fans on their first full day in the country. At one of them, a signing and photo session at the Adidas shop in Exchange TRX mall, Garnacho allowed a yawn to escape. Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Amad, and Harry Amass also attended, with fans queuing for one of them based on which colour wristband they had.

Fernandes, who carries his captain’s responsibility on this aspect of the job very well, even signed shirts in the mixed zone after the game and is such a seasoned veteran he advised people to stretch the fabric so he could make a clean signature.

At another event, as Matthijs de Ligt sang “Glory, Glory Man United” with gusto, Patrick Dorgu looked a little confused. Ayden Heaven got into the swing of things and Zirkzee conducted the tune in his usual nonchalant manner.

Those players also travelled round the city on an open-top bus, which is as set up for a punchline as you can imagine.

🔥 OMG – The #MUFC Open-Top Bus Parade is underway in #Malaysia 🇲🇾

Absolute scenes 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZKSFIKI19R

— AnfieldIndex (@AnfieldIndex) May 28, 2025

How successful those in charge at United are in shaping the squad this summer will dictate whether there is a parade in future that comes with some actual silverware.

Speaking pitchside, Berrada said: “We were ready for all the different scenarios and now know what we need to do. We have a very clear idea where we need to invest in the squad to improve.

“Jason, his team and Ruben have been in talks for many months. Now it’s a question of executing that plan and doing it in a way that is prudent but, at the same time, with ambition.”

Matheus Cunha is on the way after United triggered his £62.5million release from Wolves, and they have made their pitch to Liam Delap, who has also spoken to Chelsea, Everton, and Newcastle United and is expected to make his decision before flying out for the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia. Chelsea are seen as United’s main rivals.

Lee Carsley names his squad on June 6, by which point United will be long back from Hong Kong, their next and final stop.

(Top photo: Manchester United ahead of playing the ASEAN All Stars; by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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