Conor McGregor Discusses Interest in Buying Man United, Reveals Celtic FC Talks
May 10, 2021
In April, UFC fighter Conor McGregor tweeted that he was interested in buying Manchester United.
On Sunday, he further clarified his ambitions:
Conor McGregor @TheNotoriousMMAA conversation came up regarding Celtic first to be honest. To acquire shares from Dermot Desmond. I am certainly interested in acquiring a sports team at some stage! Both Celtic and Man United are teams I like for sure. But I am open. I feel I could do big things for a club. https://t.co/KgD9qnYipP
McGregor, quite simply, couldn't afford to buy Manchester United outright from the Glazer family, with the club worth an estimated $4.2 billion, per Forbes, making it the fourth most valuable club in the world.
McGregor's estimated net worth, meanwhile, is somewhere in the $400 million range. So yeah, a few dollars short.
Granted, if McGregor were to get into sports ownership, it would likely be alongside an investment group, similar to former MLB player Alex Rodriguez's involvement in the purchasing of the Minnesota Timberwolves alongside Marc Lore.
Purchasing shares from Celtic majority shareholder Dermot Desmond might be a different situation entirely, however. McGregor has expressed his fandom for the Irish superclub in the past, calling current Arsenal left-back (and former Celtic man) Kieran Tierney his favorite footballer.
Perhaps McGregor could find his way into football ownership. It's unclear if Desmond is interested in selling shares, or if the Glazers will be interested in parting ways with Manchester United anytime soon (despite their immense unpopularity amongst the club's supporters following the Super League fiasco).
Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer wrote to supporters on Friday that he was "engaged with the Manchester United Supporters' Trust on fan share ownership and we want to continue and accelerate those discussions, together with provisions to enhance associated fan consultation."
So changes of some variety may be coming to United. Whether McGregor ends up being involved remains to be seen.