Conor McGregor, the UFC legend, claimed he would do "huge stuff" if he bought Manchester United, the English Premier League team, despite fan protests about ownership.
The world-renowned club is reportedly owned by the American Glazer family, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but supporters have demanded a buyout since the team's purchase in 2005. However, demonstrations have lately increased in response to Manchester United's confirmation to play in the European Super League, which was cancelled after an unexpectedly unpopular reception last month.
McGregor first expressed interest in purchasing Manchester United after the Super League riots on April 20, writing, "Hey boys, I'm dreaming about buying Manchester United! Now what you believe?"
During a Twitter Q&A session on Sunday (May 9), the longtime UFC featherweight and lightweight double-champion was questioned regarding his possible involvement in purchasing the English team, and the Irish boxer announced that he has been contacted about purchasing the Celtic Football Club in Glasgow, but is open to other possibilities.
"To be frank, a discussion on Celtic came up first. "To buy shares from Dermot Desmond," McGregor tweeted. "I am surely involved in acquiring a sports team at some stage!" Celtic and Manchester United are two teams that I support. But I am available. I think I will make a significant contribution to a club."
Manchester United is the winningest team in Premier League history, but its last championship came in 2012-13, although Manchester City has risen as a formidable power, winning back-to-back championships in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and currently maintaining a 10-point lead over United atop the EPL standings for the 2020-21 season.
McGregor is set to battle Dustin Poirier in a third match to headline the upcoming UFC 264 game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 10 in front of a capacity crowd of 20,000, the biggest UFC event since the current COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020.
McGregor seeks to avenge a second-round TKO loss to Poirier at UFC 257 in January, having previously beaten Poirier in the first of three planned fights in 2014.