Jose Mourinho and his United Squad head home following shambolic China tour

 Manchester United are returning home after their brief tour of the Far East descended into farce.

Jose Mourinho’s men were due to face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in Beijing on Monday.

City and United were due to face each other in the Bird's Nest stadium.

But the game was called off five hours before kick-off, with the pitch unplayable after heavy rain.

Around 50,000 fans were denied the chance to watch Mourinho and Guardiola's sides go head-to-head in what was billed as a glittering global advert for the Premier League. Continue

 Both Mourinho and Guardiola had expressed fears for their players on the hazardous pitch, with both bosses agreeing with the decision to call off the game on safety grounds.

The pitch was already in poor condition due to a fungal problem, with the deluge - the worst Beijing has seen for 60 years - exacerbating the problem by washing away layers of replacement turf and leaving an uneven surface.

United did take part in a light training session before boarding a return flight home to Manchester on Monday afternoon.

It left fans disappointed but a host of United players sent their apologies

In a video posted on United's Twitter account, defender Luke Shaw said: "Obviously I know you're all disappointed and as players we're all disappointed too.

"We're so sorry and if we could change it, we all want to play right now but that is the final decision and we can't play. Hopefully we'll see you all soon.”

In another video, Juan Mata said: 'I know you're all disappointed but I wanted to say thank you for all your amazing support here in China. In Shanghai and now in Beijing, we really felt that you love the club, love United.

"So we're really disappointed because we were looking forward to the game. But I'm sure we will be back really soon."

Mourinho’s squad are expected to land at Manchester Airport at 5am on Tuesday morning.