Leeds United’s final ‘home’ friendly of pre-season will not take place in Yorkshire after a late change to Saturday’s Girona date.
The Spanish second tier outfit are in England applying the finishing touches to their own close season and using Manchester as a base.
Furthermore, Manchester will now host Saturday’s friendly. Etihad Campus, where Manchester City train, is the destination for the Whites tomorrow.
Why though? As of July 8, Tadcaster Albion’s i2i Stadium was hosting the match, with tickets available on the gate for supporters.
All of a sudden, three days before kick-off, United announces the switch to Greater Manchester with a small amount of tickets already allocated and no media access.
On Thursday, Tadcaster published their own statement: “The fixture between Leeds United and Girona this Saturday has unfortunately been switched to one of Manchester City's facilities.
“As much as we would have loved to have hosted the game at a packed i2i Stadium please don’t turn up expecting to watch the Mighty Whites.”
The reason for the switch is Girona’s ownership. The Spanish club is partly owned by City Football Group, the global organisation which also owns the Premier League champions.
Girona, who played Derby County at Pride Park on Thursday night, do not wish to travel to Tadcaster and instead had the match moved to their own training base in England.
