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BEIJING. — The pre-season Manchester derby that would have pitted City’s new manager Pep Guardiola against his United counterpart Jose Mourinho was yesterday cancelled hours before kick off due to weather concerns in Beijing.

The pair, who were fierce rivals while coaching Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, were due to face off for the first time in almost three years, but heavy rain in the Chinese capital has rendered the pitch unplayable.

Organisers of the International Challenge Cup tournament, which also features Borussia Dortmund, confirmed the match had been called off because of concerns over player safety.

“The International Champions Cup China, Manchester United v Manchester City match is cancelled due to the extreme weather events in Beijing over a multiple day period,” said a statement by the organisers.

“The Committee and both teams make the decision together in the interest of player safety.”

Both managers, Mourinho of United and Guardiola of City, had told reporters on Sunday they were worried about the state of the pitch at the 2008 Olympic venue following flooding in and around the Chinese capital.

“Due to recent weather events, tournament organisers and participating clubs have decided to cancel tonight’s International Champions Cup game,” said a statement jointly issued by City and United.

Mourinho had hinted 24 hours earlier that the match might be called off after training was switched to another ground in a fruitless attempt to preserve the Bird’s Nest turf, which was reported to have been recently partly relaid.

“The pitch and the conditions of my players are more important than results in pre-season. It’s not a problem for me to lose matches in pre-season,” said Mourinho on Sunday.

“It is almost the end and we can go home and train in conditions where the players are safe.”

Guardiola was similarly blunt when asked what he wanted from the match. “No injuries,” he replied.

It was the final indignity to follow a chaotic weekend in China for Mourinho’s new club after losing 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund Friday night in Shanghai in their opening, and now only, China tour match.

Half of United’s squad were on a plane which had to make a forced landing between Shanghai and Beijing on Saturday because of a violent storm in the capital.

Striker Memphis Depay tweeted a video of himself outside the plane in Tianjin, saying they were “lost in China”. The players eventually made it to the team hotel in Beijing at 1:00 am.

The cancellation of yesterday’s match is the latest blow in an increasingly shambolic Chinese tour. Mourinho and Guardiola are well aware from their previous clubs that pushing the brand comes with managing Europe’s top clubs. — The Daily Star.