Man Utd get RB Leipzig friendly update as Leeds pencil in pre-season fixture

View 2 Images

Manchester United's proposed friendly against RB Leipzig, negotiated as part of the deal for Benjamin Sesko, will not take place this summer.

However, Mirror Football can reveal the Bundesliga outfit will still head to England before the start of the 2026-27 season where they will take on Leeds United at Elland Road instead.

The game is slated for the weekend commencing August 8, once both clubs have returned from trips to the United States and Austria, respectively. Final details are expected to be announced in due course.

Red Bull bought a minority stake in Leeds and became their front-of-shirt sponsor ahead of the 2024-25 campaign when the Whites won the Championship title to earn promotion back to the top-flight.

Relations between the clubs have improved significantly since November 2022 when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed an appeal and ordered Leeds to pay Leipzig £18.4 million for Jean-Kevin Augustin.

At the time, Leeds disputed whether they had to pay their 'obligation to buy' the striker because the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted their season but the ordeal has now been firmly put to bed.

Meanwhile, Manchester United paid Leipzig an initial £66.3m for Sesko last August, plus £7.4m in potential bonuses.

Around £3.45m of those add-ons have now been triggered after United secured Champions League qualification for next season.

It's understood the Slovenia international also hit a certain threshold for undisclosed appearance and performance-related criteria.

View 2 Images

Further bonuses are up for grabs throughout the duration of Sesko's contract at Old Trafford and additionally, the future friendly between the clubs is expected to generate up to £1.75m in potential revenue.

Sesko scored 11 Premier League goals this term but missed the final three matches of the campaign due to injury.

Slovenia national team boss Bostjan Cesar recently shared frustration that Sesko was not available for upcoming friendlies against Cyprus and Croatia.

He said: "He missed the last assembly in March and then I kind of wanted him to be absent from United for a while, but then he came back quickly and I don't think he missed a game for the club.

"But if a player hasn't been in a competitive rhythm for a month, then I don't see the point in him coming and playing at half-strength."

Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.