United Legends to return
You heard right, the Legends are back! Following on from the incredibly successful Legends of the North fixture in 2022, when the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Antonio Valencia and Patrice Evra took on old foes Liverpool, a team of former Reds will once again unite to raise money for Manchester United Foundation.
This time, the opponents will come from north of the border, with legends from one half of the Old Firm – the famous Celtic – making the trip to M16. United and Celtic both have long and storied histories. The Reds, the first British team to take part in the European Cup, Celtic the first to win it in 1967, before United followed suit a year later with their own maiden triumph in that famous competition.
The clubs also share cultural connections with both having strong Irish roots. Celtic’s links to the Emerald Isle are well documented, having been originally founded to raise funds for the Irish immigrants of Glasgow back in 1888. To this day, the club still proudly wear the Irish four-leaf clover on their crest. Similarly, many of the railway workers who formed Manchester United - then known as Newton Heath, of course - were Irish immigrants.
In fact, their influence was so keenly felt that when it came to changing the name of Newton Heath, some have suggested that one of the possibilities was Manchester Celtic. In the end, the club settled on Manchester United, but this Irish influence, along with the strong Irish population of Manchester led many Reds of yesteryear to follow both United and Celtic. Despite these connections, it might surprise you to learn that the two teams have only met in competitive fixtures on four occasions in their entire histories. The most recent match-up came in the 2008/09 group stage phase of the Champions League, when a 3-0 home win for the Reds was followed up by a 1-1 draw in the return match at Celtic Park.
He's quite right, and if United Legends matches from previous years are anything to go by, supporters will be in for a treat. Prior to the aforementioned Legends of the North clash, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our iconic Treble season when the fabled 1999 team took on Bayern Munich in a rematch of the legendary Champions League final of that year.
While that game was famously decided via the finest of margins, the 2019 rematch was a one-sided affair as the Reds ran out 5-0 victors in front of a packed Old Trafford. “We’re really excited for this latest match and are hoping to see United and Celtic fans out in force,” Bryan continued. “They can come to Old Trafford knowing that they will be in for a great afternoon, while also helping to support the Foundation and their amazing work.”
Last time out in May 2022, the match against local rivals Liverpool helped raise over £1.3 million, which went towards supporting our community projects and the work we do in schools across Greater Manchester and beyond. Echoing the words of our manager for the day, with your support, we’ll be looking to do the same again to ensure that the young people we work with continue to be offered the best opportunities to succeed in life.
For more information and to get your tickets, please visit here.