​Manchester United players and their better halves were out in force on Monday night as they dressed to the nines to attend the club's 17th annual gala dinner for UNICEF, helping to raise a total of £215,000 for the children's charity on the night.


The event, which was Jose Mourinho's first since being appointed manager, has been held every year since 1999. The club have confirmed that all the money raised this time will go to Thailand to support education programmes for children who have limited or no access to school.

Mourinho put many of his personal items in a special collection to be auctioned off. It included various items of worn and signed training ground clothing, the club scarf he was holding the day he was formally unveiled at Old Trafford back in July, and even the watch off his own wrist.


The Mourinho items alone fetched £30,000.


The Portuguese told ManUtd.com, "Charity is one of the amazing things in society and I have always been very supportive of UNICEF. You know that the money is going to the right place and is going to make a big difference."

Bastian Schweinsteiger was among the United players present at the event on the day the world learned of his return to first-team training after several months of being frozen out by Mourinho.


His new wife, tennis star Ana Ivanovic, was not present, nor was David de Gea's pop star girlfriend Edurne Garcia, Wayne Rooney's wife, Coleen, or Helena Seger (Mrs Ibrahimovic), but most of the rest of the squad were accompanied by their partners.

Ander Herrera was with girlfriend Isabel Collado, Juan Mata attended with his partner Evelina Kampf and Daley Blind was pictured with long-time girlfriend Candy Rae Fleur. 


Chris Smalling attended with fiancee Sam Cooke, and Marcos Rojo's wife, Eugenia Lusardo, was also there despite being heavily pregnant.

Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Timothy Fosu-Mensah all appeared to arrive stag, While after all of his recent personal problems, Anthony Martial attended with a new blonde woman as his date.

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