United icon Sir Alex Ferguson is a big fan of the International Champions Cup (Picture: Getty)

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has sent a message to Jose Mourinho’s squad ahead of the International Champions Cup.

The Red Devils join the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the pre-season tournament where Mourinho will be keen to monitor his players in the lead-up to the 2017/18 campaign.

Victor Lindelof, who became United’s first signing of the summer, is expected to feature in the United States and the Premier League giants will be hoping to get a deal wrapped up for Alvaro Morata before they face Manchester City in their opening game of the tournament on July 20.

‘The great thing about United is you’ve got to accept the challenge of beating the best,’ Ferguson told ManUtd.com ahead of the tournament.

Manchester United face rivals Manchester City in in Houston, Texas (Picture: Getty)

‘The expectation is always there and the matches we’ll face in the ICC are all big ones.

‘It’s very good for the younger players to come into this type of competition in terms of preparing to be a Manchester United player.

‘The more intense the challenge they can get, the better prepared they will be when facing Manchester City in an important league match or Real Madrid or Barcelona in Europe.

‘The preparation to play in games as big as that can be started in pre-season tournaments like the ICC, which is fantastic.’

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