Meanwhile, Amorim has given the green light to the club to arrange money-spinning mid-season friendlies.

United arranged matches in Malaysia and Hong Kong at the end of last season, which generated about £10m.

Once it was clear they would have no European games this season, it was always likely the club would look at filling the gap.

They missed out on between £80m and £100m in revenue as a result of losing last May’s Europa League final to Tottenham and, while prize money for the Carabao Cup is minuscule by comparison, the shock second-round exit at League Two Grimsby cut off that revenue stream as well.

Fellow European heavyweights AC Milan are in a similar position, as are German side RB Leipzig and Europa League specialists Sevilla.

While no games or dates have been agreed yet, the likelihood of United combining at least one game with some warm weather training in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Dubai at the end of November, December or January is high.

United went to Saudi Arabia in January 2008, when they lost 3-2 to Al Hilal in a testimonial match for former Saudi Arabia striker Sami Al-Jaber.

Amorim knows he is in no position to challenge any decision to organise friendlies given the financial state of the club.

“We have to do it,” he said.

“We knew that when we missed Europe, we had to compensate [for] a lot of things, including our fans and the budget.

“So we are putting [it] all together to do that.”