Leeds to take on AC Milan in Dublin

The English and Italian sides will face off on August 9. 

Leeds will be coming into the game on a high after their promotion to the Premier League while it has been a forgettable season for AC Milan. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Pre-season club friendlies are returning to the Aviva Stadium, with a meeting between newly-promoted Leeds United and Italians AC Milan scheduled for Saturday, August 9.

Leeds have a major support base in Ireland and are revelling in their return to the Premier League having recently won the Championship with 100 points.

It hasn’t been such a memorable season for the Italian giants. They were knocked out of the Champions League in a February playoff by Feyenoord, beaten by Bologna in last week’s Italian Cup final and sit ninth in Serie A heading into this weekend’s final series.

Fans at the 51,000-seater Dublin 4 venue are likely to see a new manager in charge of The Rossoneri, with former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri favourites to take over as part of a major shake-up.

Former FAI chief executive John Delaney proclaimed glamour friendlies as central to the revenue model around funding their share of the reconstruction costs.

Although Manchester United opened the rebuilt stadium in 2010 before a bumper crowd by hammering a League of Ireland selection, the subsequent multi-year quadrangular Dublin Super Cup concept flopped.

The most recent pair of friendlies in 2023 produced mixed turnouts. A mere 28,241 attended the pre-season warm-up between Celtic and Wolves but the fixture between Manchester United and Atletico Bilbao – during which United’s Harry Maguire was booed – sold out.

Gary Kelly, who played 462 times for Leeds and amassed 52 caps for Republic of Ireland said: “It’s going to be an exciting game and certainly a great test for this Leeds side before their Premier League campaign kicks off. I have great memories of the last time we played Milan, captaining the side against them in the Champions League. Obviously as a proud Irishman I am delighted this fixture is coming to Dublin, which I know the locals will welcome, packing out the Aviva stadium and creating a great atmosphere.” 

AC Milan haven’t played in Dublin since their Europa League tie against Shamrock Rovers in 2020/21 season and the Rossoneri’s Brand Ambassador Daniele Massaro added: “We’re thrilled to return to Dublin after all these years and face Leeds once again, this time in a pre-season friendly. I’m sure the Irish fans will enjoy the match, and it will provide an excellent opportunity for both teams to fine-tune ahead of the new season.”