75 million reasons

75 million fans world-wide, of which 40.7 million in Asia

"We consider ourselves a global brand, a club that is prepared to travel anywhere to promote our image and that of the game. Our hotel (in Seoul) has been crowded with our fans, which doesn't surprise me. It's incredible the support we have over here and it's a phenomena we can create in certain parts of the world. There is so much respect and affection for our club in the Far East, so it's important for us to embrace that and visit these places.

"We do not merely serve our own interests when we go on tour. Every second year we have a European Championship or World Cup, so we can’t come at any given moment. We have to come when the window is there for us. We were not trying to upstage the Asian Cup. Our fan-base is large enough already; we are giving them the chance to see us live and hopefully be entertained. That's what we do when we come out here."