But heavy rain in the Chinese capital has rendered the pitch unplayable, with United revealing on Twitter that “tournament organisers and participating clubs have chose to cancel” the encounter.
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Organizers say the decision to call off Monday’s match was made in the interests of player safety, and in conjunction with both clubs, the China Football Association and management of the stadium, which was the main venue for the 2008 Olympics.
United boss, Jose Mourinho, last week complained about the state of the Bird’s Nest pitch, while City manager, was also not happy with the poor conditions in Beijing.
“It is nearly 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.
Luke Shaw and Juan Mata have sent Manchester United fans messages saying that the players share their disappointment over the match against Manchester City in Beijing being cancelled.
“It’s extremely disappointing not to be able to play the game in this unbelievable stadium but the recent torrential rain would have caused problems anywhere in the world and has left the pitch unplayable”, he said.
“We know our fans in China will, like the players and staff, be saddened by the cancellation of the match but I am sure they appreciate that player safety has to be the top priority. I am sure we will return to the Bird’s Nest in the future”.
According to the statement, the fans who have purchased tickets can seek a refund directly from their original point of purchase and another ICC game in Shenzhen between Dortmund and Man City will continue as planned.
The decision to call off the match followed a pitch inspection by representatives of United, City, the International Champions Cup and its technical advisers, the Sports Turf Research Institute.
Some of Mourinho’s players – the team took two flights from Shanghai – were forced to land in Tianjin on Saturday as a violent storm in Beijing made it impossible for their flight to land there.
Meanwhile yesterday’s makeshift training venue struggled to cope with the invasion of hundreds of media to cover the teams’ every move.
Mourinho also refused to attend a press conference where he said the room at 31 degrees, was too hot but Guardiola answered questions in the same room.
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Organisers, meanwhile, confirmed that the Manchester derby would not be rescheduled, meaning that the International Champions Cup will not crown a victor in 2016.
