European giants and 19-time Serie A champions AC Milan have confirmed their return to WA, with the footballing powerhouse to take on Perth Glory in a pre-season friendly.

Milan will take on the A-League Men’s side at HBF Park on July 31 to conclude their Asia-Pacific pre-season tour.

And with the Perth clash to come off the back of Milan’s friendlies against Arsenal and Liverpool, WA locals could be set to see a star-studded Rossoneri outfir take to the field against the Glory.

After dashing down to Perth last May to take on fellow Italian side AS Roma in a post-season friendly, the seven-time European champions will now use WA as part of their preparations for next Serie A season.

AC Milan boast an array of stars in their squad, including American attacker Christian Pulisic, Dutch midfield maestro Tijjani Reijnders, French World Cup runner-up Theo Hernandez and 2022 Serie A Footballer of the Year Rafael Leao.

Last year’s game against Roma at Optus Stadium drew 56,000 fans for the exhibition match and marked the first-ever encounter between two Serie A teams on Australian soil.

Milan’s whirlwind four-day Perth stay last year, which saw the club bring out footballing legends Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Franco Baresi, evidently left a good impression on the global powerhouse.

Fans packed out the open training the club hosted, while autograph hunters and selfie-seekers lined the halls of Crown Towers, where the squad stayed.

Their game against the Glory will come off the back of games in Singapore and Hong Kong, and is due to take place less than four weeks before their Serie A campaign gets underway.

Milan’s return comes amid reports Serie A was weighing up an offer to bring a competitive match, potentially involving AC Milan, to Perth in a world-first move.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported the league’s chief executive Luigi de Siervo received an offer to play a competitive league game in Australia and further reports said Perth would host the game off the back of an offer presented by WA’s State Government.

The match — which would be the first played on foreign soil by any of Europe’s top leagues — has been slated for early next year, midway through the Serie A season, when Milan’s San Siro Stadium will be unavailable as it prepares to host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

However, any proposal to play Serie A games in other countries would need to be approved by both the league and European governing body UEFA before it came to fruition.