Storied clubs to face off at NRG Stadium
Real Madrid will square off against Manchester United in Houston for the first time as part of the Soccer Champions Tour at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at NRG Stadium.
The teams will meet for the first time since the Red Devils beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the International Champions Cup in 2018.
Real Madrid participated in the inaugural Soccer Champions Tour event last year while Manchester United is returning to the United States for the first time in five years.
With forward Karim Benzema’s departure, Real Madrid made defender Nacho Fernández primary captain with midfielder Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and defender Dani Carvajal captaining behind him ahead of the 2023-24 season.
“For us, it is always something special because it is the only opportunity for us to play (in the U.S.) during the year,” Kroos said. “So, in the summer we always want to go there to see our fans.”
Midfielder Federico Valverde’s brace helped Real Madrid beat AC Milan 3-2 on June 23 in the Soccer Champions Tour opener at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Valverde scored in the 57th minute and again in the 59th before forward Vinícius Júnior’s goal in the 84th capped the second-half comeback victory.
Midfielder Jude Bellingham, who officially joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in mid-June on a six-year contract worth just over $110 million, made his debut on Sunday, entering in the 64th minute.
The 20-year-old Englishman is the secondmost expensive signing for Real Madrid after Eden Hazard, who landed from Chelsea in 2019 for around $113 million. The club also re-signed defender Fran García from Rayo Vallecano and added 18-year-old midfielder Arda Güler from Turkish side Fenerbahce.
García played his first game on Sunday while Güler could make his debut against Manchester United on Wednesday. The trio of signings will help Real Madrid replace Benzema, who departed for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia in early June after 14 years with the club.
Real Madrid will also face rival Barcelona on July 29 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and close its Soccer Champions Tour against Juventus Aug. 2 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
“We have a great squad, a great team that obviously if we all pull in the same direction, we are going to achieve great things,” Valverde said.
Manchester United last played at NRG Stadium in 2017 when it beat rival Manchester City 2-0 while Real Madrid suffered a 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich at the same venue in 2019.
The Red Devils are only participating in one Soccer Champions Tour match as part of their U.S. trip. Midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who replaced defender Harry Maguire as the Red Devils’ captain, and Jadon Sancho scored seven minutes apart in the first half to lead the squad past Arsenal 2-0 on June 22 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., to begin their U.S. tour.
The Red Devils will also travel to San Diego to match up against Wrexham, which is owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, a day before facing Real Madrid and will meet Borussia Dortmund in a friendly on July 30 at Allegiant Stadium in Nevada to wrap their U.S. trip.
Midfielder Donny van de Beek, who is back from a long knee injury, is experiencing his first preseason trip to the U.S.
The 26-year-old Dutchman is already making an immediate impact after leading the Red Devils to a 1-0 friendly victory over Lyon on July 19 via a volley in his first appearance with the club since January.
Van de Beek, who did not play against Arsenal on Saturday, said the Red Devils will most likely break into two squads for their two matches in as many days.
“I’m happy to train with the team again, I just push every day,” Van de Beek said. “You just need to give everything to help the team win, that’s the most important thing.”