RB Leipzig to face Leeds at Elland Road after Man United friendly falls through

RB Leipzig’s planned pre-season friendly against Manchester United has been cancelled, with the Bundesliga club set to face Leeds United at Elland Road in the weekend commencing August 8 instead.

The Leipzig fixture had been negotiated as a side arrangement when United agreed the £66.3m deal to sign Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko last August. That transfer included up to £7.4m in potential add-ons, of which £3.45m have already been triggered following United’s qualification for next season’s Champions League. Sesko also hit undisclosed appearance and performance-related thresholds, with further bonuses available throughout the duration of his contract at Old Trafford.

The switch in opponent for Leipzig reflects the growing ties between the German club and Leeds. Red Bull purchased a minority stake in Leeds and became their front-of-shirt sponsor ahead of the 2024-25 season, the campaign in which the Yorkshire club won the Championship title to return to the Premier League. Both clubs will travel to the United States and Austria respectively before converging in England, with final fixture details expected to be confirmed in due course.

The friendly is projected to generate up to £1.75m in revenue, adding a commercial dimension to what began as a goodwill gesture embedded in the Sesko deal.

Relations between Leeds and Leipzig had been strained since November 2022, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed Leeds’ appeal and ordered them to pay Leipzig £18.4m for Jean-Kevin Augustin. Leeds had contested whether their obligation to buy the striker was enforceable given the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but that dispute has since been resolved.

Sesko, meanwhile, finished his debut Premier League season with 11 goals before injury ruled him out of United’s final three matches. Slovenia head coach Bostjan Cesar expressed frustration at the striker’s unavailability for upcoming friendlies against Cyprus and Croatia, saying: “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.”