"Early talks with Real Madrid and Barcelona failed to produce any concrete results," the legend said in the Saudi capital. "We approached Manchester United who agreed to appear in a friendly match in January.

"There will be a press conference with manager Alex Ferguson on November 3, the date of the league clash in London between Arsenal and Manchester United, when the official announcement of the match will be made.

"The specific date of the game is yet to be fixed, yet both sides have agreed to be in January."