Liverpool are expected to travel over 10,000 miles to Australia soon after the campaign ends to play a friendly on the week of the Champions League final.
With the Reds out of the Champions League following their penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, plans for their end-of-season parade can be finalised.
Though the Premier League title is not yet sealed Arne Slot‘s side are widely acknowledged as champions-elect, and they could then take the trophy on an open-top bus tour of the city on Monday, May 26.
According to newspaper the Australian, Liverpool are then expected to fly to Melbourne to face the A-League All-Stars in a lucrative friendly.
The fixture would be held at the 100,024-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground as part of the buildup to the A-League Grand Final, which will take place on the weekend of May 30-June 1.
Australian officials are said to have “been in talks with a handful of top European clubs” but Liverpool “had always been the preferred option.”
With a clash with the Champions League final – which will be played in Munich on May 31 – no longer a consideration, Liverpool’s “path is clear” to take part.
The exact date of any post-season friendly is as yet unknown but is likely to land on the same weekend as the Grand Final.
Interestingly, it would be before the contracts of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah expire, meaning they could in theory play their final game for the club in Australia.
It would almost certainly be a major money-spinner for Liverpool, but would add to an already ridiculous schedule for Slot and his players ahead of what would be a rare summer without a major international tournament.
The Reds’ last post-season friendly was also in Australia, with a 3-0 win over Sydney FC in 2017 seeing Steven Gerrard, Steve McManaman and Jamie Carragher join Jurgen Klopp‘s squad.
Liverpool played Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United as part of pre-season in 2015, while they faced Melbourne Victory at the MCG in 2013, with 95,446 supporters in attendance.
While the scale of support in Australia is impressive any decision to take part in a post-season friendly is hugely controversial – as Tottenham and Newcastle found as they took part last summer.
It would cloud any future criticism over the club’s fixture list in the campaign proper, with Slot and his squad also expected to travel back to the Far East for pre-season in July, with talks held over fixtures in Japan and Hong Kong.
The report in the Australian is as yet unconfirmed by sources on Merseyside but it stands to reason that, given timing of this news, it could bear fruit.
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