Manchester United will face Manchester City in the first derby outside of the United Kingdom when they play in this summer's preseason International Champions Cup China this summer, with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund also playing the two English sides.
Premier League duo United and City will play each other in Beijing's iconic, 91,000-capacity Bird's Nest stadium on July 25. Dortmund will face United in Shanghai three days earlier, before the triangular tournament concludes with incoming City manager Pep Guardiola taking on German opposition just weeks after his time at Bayern Munich comes to a close.
This year's ICC tournament will also be played across the globe, including tournaments in across the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. The stellar line-up of clubs includes Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, chelsea, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Totttenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Celtic and Melbourne Victory.
"I think it's great news we're coming on tour to China," former United captain Nemanja Vidic told MUTV. "We have so many followers in the country, over 100 million fans and it's good to visit them and spend some time with them. They're really passionate about United.
"I was in China in 2007 and I have to say the amount of energy we got from the fans there was unbelievable. I look back on that preseason with great memories before the 2007-08 season because that was one of the most successful seasons in my career at United and my career as a whole."
We'll play Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City in China this July on #MUtour. More: https://t.co/9IIcqrfbtJ pic.twitter.com/Rkya32URny
- Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 23, 2016
It is City's first visit to China since announcing a £265m minority shareholding investment in the club's parent company City Football Group by the Chinese consortium China Media Capital in December.
City last visited China on a pre-season tour in 2012. Last summer they visited South Africa, Australia and Vietnam as part of their pre-season tour.
Omar Berrada, group commercial director of City Football Group, told the club's official website: "Everyone at Manchester City is delighted to be taking part once again in the ICC and there is a great line-up of matches.
"We are excited to return to China and to the Bird's Nest for what promises to be a memorable tournament.
"I'm sure our fans will create an incredible atmosphere in the Bird's Nest and in Shenzhen and we are looking forward to connecting with them both on and off the pitch.
"We are committed to having a long-term presence in China and to developing football across the country. We know our visit in July will form a big part of our continued growth."
First Manchester derby outside of the UK... City v United in Beijing! #MCFC
➡ https://t.co/rk3VAf9ETb ���� pic.twitter.com/ssuDXadVDU
- Manchester City FC (@MCFC) March 23, 2016
Dortmund will be making their second consecutive preseason trip to Asia. In 2015, BVB played matches in Japan and Malaysia and also visited Singapore, where they had opened an office the previous year.
"We are delighted to take part in a tournament with clubs of such quality," Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told the club's official website. "We've been able to welcome fans and journalists from China at the Westfalenstadion in the past few years. It's our desire that we pay them a return visit."
Watzke added Dortmund are eager to find out what exactly the club's fans in China wish for and "experience China's fast growing interest in football."
Dortmund marketing director Carsten Cramer said that the invitation to play the tournament as the only non-Premier League club shows the appreciation for "BVB's extraordinary work in the past years."
ESPN FC correspondents Stephan Uersfeld and Jonathan Smith contributed to this report