Manchester United in talks with AC Milan about friendly in Middle East But with the prospect of a free midweek in January which would not clash with Premier League or United's domestic cup commitments, United and Milan - who also failed to qualify for Europe this season - are now attempting to finalise a date and venue for a friendly, with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar all under consideration. United have previously played a mid-season friendly in the Middle East, with Sir Alex Ferguson taking his squad to Riyadh in January 2008 to provide the opposition in a testimonial for Saudi Arabia international Sami al-Jaber. That fixture, against Al Hilal, was played out to a 69,000 sell-out in the Saudi capital. United have also travelled to the Gulf for mid-season training breaks in recent years, with Qatar and Dubai hosting the squad for warm weather training. Louis van Gaal, the United manager, raised concerns during the club's summer tour of the demands placed on his squad during the five-game trip to the United States. But the Dutchman admitted last month that he is in favour of friendies against "high-level opponents" with United's fixture list reduced to just Premier League and FA Cup fixtures for the remainder of this season. Van Gaal said: "I like to play midweek games against high-level opponents." United would bank at least £1m from a game in the Middle East, with television rights also likely to boost any earnings from the fixture.