Manchester United lost to an ASEAN All-Star XI on their trip to South-East Asia, and manager Ruben Amorim was of the opinion that the booing they received from the large crowd in Kuala Lumpur would have done his players some good.

Whether one considers this sojourn a pre-season or post-season (the UEFA Champions League final was yet to be played), it showed the fall the 20-time English champions have suffered over the last dozen years since a certain Alex Ferguson stepped down as the man in charge.

“The boos from the fans, I think it’s something that we need maybe because every game that we lost in the Premier League, they were always there (cheering us),” their Portuguese manager said after the exhibition match. “So, it’s like the way of playing, if they see that it’s not working, they will change the way they behave.”

Though Manchester United managed to win their second match of the tour 3-1 (after trailing 0-1 at half-time to Hong Kong), it did little to brighten the mood around the club.

Forced to board the plane just a couple of days after the end of the Premier League season – which, by general consensus, was their worst campaign in more than half a century – and within a week of losing the UEFA Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur, it was evident that it was a trip mandated by sponsors and commercial considerations, rather than any team-building requirements. Another trip, to the United States, is scheduled for July.

It was evident from the fact that three of their players were off to the airport for a day-long sponsor-driven marketing trip to Mumbai as the team was being given a rude response in the Malaysian capital – an eye-opener as fans in that part of the world are more star-struck about Premier League clubs than in most places in the world. Even though the Bukut Jalil Stadium saw a sizable crowd, the enthusiasm was nothing compared to the frenzy seen in 2009 when Manchester United last visited Malaysia.

That team had the likes of Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, but the current lot of fans wonder why they have to keep supporting a club that’s not winning anything.

A lot gone wrong

Though results on the pitch haven’t been great, it’s not the only area that has prompted frowns among traditional supporters. Downsizing in non-playing personnel and closing the staff canteen at both Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training ground, replacing free meals with soup/bread – ostensibly as cost-cutting measures – hasn’t made the narrative around the team any more positive.

Amorim may have described the players at his disposal as the “worst” Manchester United team ever – and the side that finished 15th in the Premier League could have been in serious relegation trouble had the clubs that did go down been any better – it’s not only on the pitch that co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has to turn things around.

It’s evident that Manchester United may still be a big club, with all the history and tradition, but it certainly is not a big team at the moment. A lot of pedigreed managers have tried their hand since the days of Ferguson, but have not added to their Premier League title count. The likes of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have been the two biggest names in charge, but expectations around Old Trafford have gone down to such an extent that the Portuguese handler considers the second place the club finished at during his stint among his finest achievements.

As things stand, Manchester City and Liverpool have advanced almost out of sight of United. Arsenal haven’t been Premier League winners for more than two decades now, but with three back-to-back runners-up finishes, Mikel Arteta’s team is at least consistent. United will be without any European football next season, only the second such occasion in the last 35 years, and ironically, some believe it could be the start of a revival as the club would be able to focus all its energies on the domestic front. For a start, it would force the club to slash its wage bill by offloading some players, especially the underperforming ones who are not justifying the expenditure on the pitch.

But missing out on the European high table – in this case, the UEFA Champions League – comes at a cost, Ratcliffe putting it between 80 to 100 million pounds. Not only do they not get the substantial bonus, but it’s difficult to attract top players to the club. That they missed out this season despite the Premier League getting an additional slot, and also failed to get through the back door of the second-tier Europa League, may rankle a few. In fact, Tottenham, the club that made it to the Champions League at United’s expense, finished just above the relegation zone. But supporters have got used to this situation – 2025-26 will be the sixth season in the past 13 that this has happened. This would prompt the sort of measures in the name of balancing the books that leave a bad taste in the mouth.      

Hard yards ahead

It may be some time before Manchester United get back to the top of the English game. They are way off the pace of the title-chasers and if recent evidence is anything to go by, the likes of Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest – much smaller clubs with much less financial muscle – are knocking on the doors of the Champions League.

There was a time when a Manchester United manager, players and even fans would consider appearing in the Europa League almost beneath themselves, and almost second-string sides would be fielded. What would they think of the current situation when there’s even a third tier of European club football, and they can’t get in any of them?

The history of sport, and football in particular, is replete with empires built and demolished. The Italian aristocracy, represented by the likes of AC Milan and Juventus, fell by the wayside and haven’t fully re-emerged. Inter Milan has only recently regained a bit of prestige for Serie A. Nobody has a divine right to perennial success. Manchester United was, for a long time, the torch-bearer of English football, before others took over. Everything works in cycles. But the hallowed club, with a footprint around the world, needs to get its act together – on the pitch and the touchline, and also in the boardroom. The decision-makers have to focus on the bottom line – and not just the financial one.