Boyhood Manchester United fan Rory McIlroy said he is open to the prospect of investing in the club in the future.
McIlroy admitted he would love to own a small percentage of the club he has supported since he was a child and praised the proposed involvement of Sir Jim Ratcliffe with the club who is looking to purchase a 25% stake in the club with the Glazer family retaining commercial control.
McIlroy along with Liverpool and England star Trent Alexander-Arnold, Juan Mata and Anthony Joshua have all recently invested in F1 team Alpine.
“Sports team ownership used to be limited to private equity, and people who had a ton of money. But now sports stars are becoming more savvy and using their money in the right way,” McIlroy told Sky Sports.
“I would love to be able to own a tiny percentage of the club I grew up cheering on as a boy.
“I would have loved to have taken 0.00001 per cent of Manchester United when Jim Ratcliffe took 25 per cent. And if another opportunity comes my way I will look at it. But it is not something that has come across our table as of yet.”
McIlroy’s potential investment in Manchester United wouldn’t be the first time a golfer has held a stake in a football club with US golf stars Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas holding minority ownership with Man United’s rivals, Leeds United as part of the 49ers takeover – which they asked Rory to join!
“There is Tom Brady at Birmingham and there are a few golfers – Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas – who invested with the 49ers Group, and they own a tiny slice of Leeds. They asked me if I wanted to come on board, and I said as a Man United fan I cannot go anywhere near that!
“Sir Jim has got a great track record and everybody that does support United should be excited by the possibilities if they give him full sporting authority and decisions for the club. As a fan I am excited.”
The ownership situation at Manchester United has become a tiring and never-ending novel themed with green and yellow scarves which hark back to the days when they were known as Newton Heath.
Despite winning every trophy possible under the stewardship of the Glazer family and spending over £2billion on transfers since they took the reins in June 2005, this hasn’t been enough to satisfy the majority of the Old Trafford fanbase who have persistently protested against the Americans including breaking into the stadium during Covid which caused a game with arch rivals Liverpool to be postponed in 2021.
McIlroy, a four-time major winner, has occasionally been seen at Old Trafford during his time off but those trips may become more regular if he secured a stake in the club.
Dipping his toes into the fickle world of professional football could prove a risk for Rory who could face a share of the blame for the club’s misfortunes from the fans who constantly take swipes at the club’s hierarchy instead of their underperforming manager Erik Ten Hag who was given full control over transfer activity by the Glazers in the summer.
2024 will see McIlroy enter his tenth year since his last major championship triumph, while Manchester United have already gone a decade without a Premiership title.
Might they both combine to finally strike gold?
Leave a comment