Rory McIlroy reveals he wants a stake in Manchester United after investing in Formula One team Alpine and claims he has no regrets over Ryder Cup car park bust up
- Rory McIlroy is part of a consortium that has invested £175million into Alpine
- He has been following Jim Ratcliffe’s ongoing £1.4billion bid for a stake in United
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Rory McIlroy has revealed the sporting investment he most wants is a stake in Manchester United.
The Ryder Cup star bought into Formula One team Alpine this week, along with former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, World Cup winner Juan Mata and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
McIlroy, part of a consortium that has invested £175million ($212m) for a 24 per cent holding, is in Austin for the US Grand Prix for the first time as a co-owner of the former Renault outfit.
‘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,’ said McIlroy, who has been following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ongoing £1.4billion ($1.7bn) bid for 25 per cent of United with a fan’s close interest.
‘I would have loved to have taken 0.00001 per cent of Manchester United when Jim Ratcliffe bought in. If another opportunity comes my way I will look at it.
Rory McIlroy has revealed the investment he most wants is a stake in Manchester United
The Ryder Cup star bought into Formula One team Alpine this week and is at the US Grand Prix
The Northern Irishman is pictured with Alpine’s drivers, Pierre Gasly (L) and Esteban Ocon (R)
‘I would love to be able to own a tiny percentage of the club I grew up cheering on as a boy. That would be very cool. It is not something that has come across our table as of yet.
‘But there is Tom Brady at Birmingham and there are few golfers – Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas – invested with the 49ers Group, who own a 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!’
McIlroy, 34, will attend as many F1 as he can, but dismissed any notion that his latest investment – his 22nd in all – would distract him from his golf. ‘The balance is fine,’ he said.
Turning to his finger-jabbing in the car park at Marco Simone in Rome on the penultimate evening of the Ryder Cup, McIlroy insisted there were no hard feelings three weeks on.
Team Europe’s hero, McIlroy, brought the Ryder Cup to the paddock in Austin, Texas
‘Any regrets? Jeez, no, not at all,’ said Europe’s top scorer, who had been angered by the triumphalist celebrations of Joe LaCava, caddie for Patrick Cantlay, at the end of the fourballs.
‘I felt like what happened in the car park galvanized the team. It benefitted us. Things happen in the heat of the moment. Tensions were high, but Joe came into the European team room on Sunday night and had a drink and a chat.
‘I have had a great relationship with Joe over the years and that wasn’t going to change. The incident happened. I didn’t want to meet anyone on the Sunday morning because I wanted what happened to fuel me and my focus was on making sure Europe won the Ryder Cup – before sorting out all the other stuff afterwards.
‘And it is all fine. We are all friends.’
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