Six famous Man Utd fans and the ‘one who got away’

SINGAPORE – Life hasn’t been the same since the English Premier League (EPL) ended on May 24. Without any major tournaments, like the World Cup, happening this year, most EPL fans have been starved of proper action.

Most teams fortunately are back to training and pre-season fixtures are kicking off this week, including the Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore. The start of pre-season is normally a reminder to fans that the EPL will be kicking off soon.

The EPL’s first game will be on Aug 8 — between Manchester United and Tottenham. The game will kick off at 7.45pm, Singapore time.

To build up the anticipation, we take a look at five celebrity Manchester United fans – and the one celebrity who came really close to being one.

1. USAIN BOLT

The world’s fastest man has been a known Manchester United fan for years. He have often tweeted about Man Utd games and he has even tried to convince former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to give him a trial.

When Manchester United announced the signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger on Monday (July 13), Bolt took to Instagram to welcome the German captain to the club.

“I want to take this time to welcome @bastianschweinsteiger to @manchesterunited... I [am] sure u will help us to be victorious this season.#ForeverFaster #seriousface”.

2. RORY MCILROY

The world No 1 golfer told a UK television programme last year that he dreamt of playing for Manchester United as a child.

“I think every little boy has a dream of being a professional footballer. I definitely imagined myself in the back garden scoring a goal for Manchester United,” told McIlroy to Goals on Sunday last year.

3. IAN BROWN - THE STONE ROSES

Not only is Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown a season ticket holder at Old Trafford, but one of his band’s songs, This Is The One, blares out at every match in the stadium when the players take the field.

Brown told The Guardian that he began supporting the club when he was five years old. It was “when we won the European Cup on May 29, 1968,” he said.

“My sister was born the day before and when I went into the hospital the day after, United were on the telly. I was born in 63 so I was only five but I can still remember it.”

Brown says his favourite player of all time is current assistant manager Ryan Giggs.

4. ED O’BRIEN - RADIOHEAD

The Radiohead guitarist told the Independent Manchester United Supporters Trust that he started supporting the club while studying at Manchester University.

In an interview with Myria.com, O’Brien also said he constantly checks up on club related news while on tour.

“I’m also a big soccer fan — Manchester United — so I check out the MU sites, and there are a lot,” he said.

According to several websites, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke is also supposedly a Manchester United fan. However, there has been no quotes on him over the issue.

5. SIMON LE BON - DURAN DURAN

Like Ian Brown, Duran Duran’s frontman says one of his fondest memories of Manchester United was in 1968.

“I was at home with my dad. He shouted me into the back room and said ‘come and watch this.’ It was the European Cup final between United and Benfica. I just remember seeing Georgie Best go round the goalkeeper [for United’s second goal] and from then on United were my team for life,” he told the official Man Utd website

6. ORLANDO BLOOM

The Pirates of the Caribbean star told Shortlist.com that he was influenced by his neighbour to become a Man Utd fan.

“Well, when I was young, my best mate lived next door to me and his dad was a big Man United fan. There were three boys [in that family] so I’d go round and watch the footie, and since they were all huge fans I became one by default.”

QUESTIONABLE MAN UTD CELEBRITY ‘FANS’

These celebrities have all been reported to be Manchester United fans before, although their true allegiance are still unknown: Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Megan Fox, Brad Pitt.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

In an interview with the BBC in May, Prince William said he regretted not picking Manchester United as his club while as a kid.

The second-in-line to the British Crown said he chose to support Aston Villa at school, as all his friends were supporting Manchester United or Chelsea and he wanted something less “run of the mill”.

“I wanted to have a team that was more middle of the table, that could give me the more emotional rollercoaster moments – to be honest, now looking back, that was a bad idea. I could have had an easier time!”

MANCHESTER UNITED’S GLOBAL FANBASE

In 2012, Manchester United said it had 659 million followers worldwide. This was after the club commissioned the largest ever global football follower survey, carried out by leading market research agency.

According to the survey findings, Manchester United has 325 million followers in Asia, 173 million in Africa and the Middle East, 90 million in Europe and 71 million in the Americas.