Manchester United could be set to lose one of their senior squad members next year, with a reliable journalist revealing that he’s been the subject of internal talks at a club who want to buy him in January.
Man Utd's current defenders
The Red Devils have Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans as their natural options at centre-back as it stands, but there’s a strong possibility that three of them could soon be heading for the exit door.
Both Lindelof and Evans will have reached the expiration of their deals at the end of the current season (Man Utd contracts), whilst Maguire could attract attention once again having been the subject of interest over the summer despite not leaving before the deadline.
Another player who is facing an uncertain future is Raphael Varane, who has fallen significantly out of favour this season having made just four starts and the same number of substitute appearances in the Premier League (WhoScored – Varane stats).
The France international is therefore expected to receive offers from clubs in the Saudi Pro League during the upcoming window, and with CaughtOffside having since claimed that Erik ten Hag could sell him for the right price, the 30-year-old has emerged as a serious target for a high-profile admirer overseas.
Bayern Munich want Raphael Varane
Taking to X, Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg confirmed that European giants Bayern Munich are interested in Varane and have held talks over a possible move, but as it stands, a deal is unlikely to take place due to his unbelievably high salary.
He wrote: “Excl. News #Varane: Internally, FC Bayern has considered the 30 y/o. Discussions took place. Internal opinion: interesting but currently unrealistic because of his salary. It's not a hot topic yet, but he remains under observation in the next weeks.
"Bayern informed that his departure in winter is possible / #MUFC. Price valuation: €20-30m [£17-26m] / a loan is not an option at this stage. Salary: more than £17m.”
Manchester United defenderRaphael Varane.
Man Utd need to keep "leader" in Varane
Standing at 6 foot 3, Varane provides a fantastic physical presence at the heart of Man United’s backline with his height where he’s currently averaging 2.5 clearances per game in the top-flight. The Lille native is also extremely calm and composed in possession, recording a 92.4% pass success rate at this moment in time which shows how good he is with the ball at his feet as well as when he’s trying to get rid of the danger off the ground.
Sponsored by Puma, Ten Hag’s colossus even has the versatility to operate out wide at right-back and higher up as a defensive midfielder alongside his usual role at centre-back (Transfermarkt – Varane stats), so the fact that he’s able to easily adapt to positions outside of his own makes him a great option to have in the building.
As per journalist Josh Bunting, Varane is a “leader” in the defence and he’s arguably one of the strongest options that the manager has at his disposal, so sanctioning his sale at the start of next year could be the wrong decision to make, but by th looks of it, it's a possibility.
O São Paulo anunciou na última quinta-feira (14), a contratação deMarcos Biasotto como novo diretor-executivo das categorias de base do clube. O executivo estava no Athletico e chega no Tricolor para comandar o setor de revelações em Cotia.
Defesa está boa? Veja quantos gols o São Paulo levou até a 29ª rodada do Brasileirão desde 2006
Antes do Furacão, Biasotto trabalhou no Internacional, Grêmio, Flamengo e Palmeiras. Ele já visitou as instalações do São Paulo e deu a sua opinião sobre a estrutura da base são-paulina.
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– Eu conhecia a estrutura, mas não na essência. A visita que fiz ontem me deixou surpreso, o São Paulo tem uma estrutura física maravilhosa, uma das maiores do mundo todo, e temos que usufruir disso para continuar lançando grandes jogadores para o time profissional. Formar o atleta de forma integral é o que queremos aqui – disse ele ao site oficial do São Paulo.
O presidente do São Paulo, Julio Casares, exaltou a chegada do profissional e comentou sobre suas expectativas para o trabalho de Biasotto.
– A vinda do Biasotto nos causa extrema satisfação pela competência, conteúdo técnico, e principalmente pela sinergia não só com Muricy, mas também com o Diniz. Fiquei muito feliz com a chegada dele. Tenho total confiança de que teremos um trabalho promissor – afirmou ao site do Tricolor.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has criticised the Red Devils' 'mad' style of play after a wild 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
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Man Utd draw against LiverpoolTook lead thanks to surprise goalsNeville criticises Man Utd's level of playGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Two wonder goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo gave Manchester United the lead against league leaders Liverpool after Luis Diaz put the Reds ahead in the 26th minute. However, a poor challenge by Aaron Wan-Bissaka gave Jurgen Klopp's men a penalty and Mohamed Salah tucked it in to have the points shared between the two rivals. Despite the surprise point against Klopp's in-form side, Neville has criticised the club's style of play and Erik Ten Hag's 'strange' tactics.
AdvertisementWHAT NEVILLE SAID
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, the club legend said [via Sky Sports]: "Manchester United's style of play is mad. Some of the things you see out there, you wouldn't see at schoolboy level. Their structure defensively goes from being in shape and being okay to all of a sudden emptying the whole midfield. Players press on their own without the rest of their teammates going with them.
"You have players in front of the ball at throw-ins and the ball gets thrown in behind towards the back four. All of the things that you see as, if you like, the easiest things in football to do, Manchester United do really badly. They are so easy to play against. Liverpool had 15 shots in that first half.
"You can't really coach that type of performance. You are just relying on individual moments, luck, goalkeepers making saves and defenders making blocks. That's what we've seen from them against Liverpool. I don't think it is any lack of endeavour. There is no lack of desire in the team. There's just no sense to their actual performance levels."
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
In reality, the scoreline did not reflect the true nature of the clash, as Liverpool dominated the Red Devils throughout the entirety of the game but went down due to a defensive mistake by Jarell Quansah and a wonder strike by Mainoo. Klopp has had Ten Hag's number this season as Liverpool managed to have a total of 62 shots against Man Utd in their two Premier League clashes this campaign, as per OptaJoe.
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WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?
The Red Devils slipped further away from the Champions League spot as Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur sit 11 points ahead in the Premier League standings. They will be in action against Bournemouth on Saturday, April 13.
Stand-in skipper Angel Di Maria scored a stunning free-kick in Argentina's comeback win over Costa Rica.
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Di Maria scored a stunning free-kickArgentina won consecutive matches without MessiBeat Costa Rica 3-1WHAT HAPPENED?
A Lionel Messi-less Argentina side went down 1-0 against Costa Rica in the first half but Di Maria brought his side back in the game in the 52nd minute when he curled in a terrific free-kick from 25 yards. Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez then scored a goal each as La Albiceleste clinched the clash 3-1.
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The reigning world champions played two friendlies during the March international break without their talismanic skipper as the 36-year-old withdrew his name from the squad after picking up an injury during Inter Miami's CONCACAF Champions Cup clash against Nashville earlier this month. The South American giants scored six goals in their two matches against El Salvador and Costa Rica and conceded just once, showing that they are still a formidable outfit when Messi is unavailable.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARGENTINA?
Lionel Scaloni's side will now look ahead to the Copa America in June as they look to defend their title, with Messi likely to be the focal point in the team once again. They begin their journey against Canada on June 21.
CEO Thabang Moroe said meetings with broadcasters and sponsors are ongoing, but didn’t specify how the dilemma of reducing two teams would be resolved with GLT20 franchises
Firdose Moonda31-Jul-2018Cricket South Africa’s yet-to-be-named flagship T20 tournament will consist of six teams, two fewer than the Global T20 League (GLT20) was due to have, and the same as the current number of domestic franchises. CSA’s board approved the number of teams on Saturday, CEO Thabang Moroe revealed, but it has not yet decided where those teams will be based.Interested members from the 12 provincial affiliates will need to bid for a team in the new tournament. CSA have appointed independent analytics agency Nielsen Sports to conduct research and present a proposal to the CSA board recommending which six teams to include in the tournament, which Moroe said will likely consist of 32 matches to be played in November and December this year.”There will be certain criteria applied by Nielsen which will involve monies, the ability to pull crowds, infrastructure around you and governmental support. The process will be independent,” Moroe said at a press conference in Johannesburg.That new format will therefore be dissimilar to the current domestic competition, the Ram Slam, which will also be played in the 2018-19 summer. The Ram Slam is contested between the existing franchises, who each have two home stadiums, thus ensuring the competition is taken all across the country. The new competition is unlikely to have similar reach with the big stadiums – The Wanderers, SuperSport Park, Newlands, Kingsmead, St George’s Park and Mangaung Oval – the frontrunners for a flagship tournament.No other details about the new league have been finalised but Moroe provide an assurance that his office is hard at work. “The league continues as far as planning is concerned. We have continued to meet with the broadcasters and with corporates for sponsorship opportunities,” Moroe said. “But we are not as far as we would like to be in terms of sponsorship.”Neither has CSA managed to sort out the issues that arose from the previous team owners’ unhappiness, so much so that three of the eight threatened to take legal action against CSA. Moroe will travel to Dubai and Mumbai between August 8 and 12 to meet with the previous owners to “discuss the future of the league and the future of Cricket South Africa.”ESPNcricinfo understands that Hiren Bhanu, owner of the Pretoria Mavericks who had offered CSA US$70 million over 11 years to buy the league, will attend the meetings in Mumbai. Bhanu remains hopeful of securing an equity share in the new league.So do the owners of the Durban Qalanders, Nelson Mandela Bay Stars and Bloem City Blazers, who all issued press releases in June confirming they reserved their rights as owners and wished to be reinstated. With the tournament now having shrunk from eight to six teams, it will be impossible for CSA to hold on to all the former owners, and Moroe did not elaborate on how the organisation plans to solve this new dilemma.
Liverpool are currently sitting in fourth place in the Premier League table, just three points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur at the summit, and it represents a bounce back to form following an underwhelming 2022/23 campaign.
Jurgen Klopp will be eyeing a Champions League spot and a strong run in Europe this term and his summer transfer business saw the German rejuvenate his midfield options.
With the January transfer window fast approaching, the Reds have shown interest in one of Europe’s brightest young talents – Jamal Musiala.
Are Liverpool interested in Jamal Musiala?
According to BILD journalist Christian Falk, the club want to sign the Bayern Munich midfielder. He said: “Our Story: FC Liverpool is interested in Jamal Musiala (20) @FCBayern.
“His agents are currently not talking to the club about extending his contract (Til 2026) with Bayern.”
Jamal Musiala
The youngster is currently valued at €92.3m (£80m) according to Football Transfers and with another three years left on his contract, its clear the Anfield side will need to splash the cash in order to lure him to England, either in January or next summer.
How many goals has Musiala scored for Bayern?
Musiala made his debut for Bayern during the 2019/20 campaign and has since made 133 appearances for the Bundesliga side while registering 57 goal contributions – 32 goals and 25 assists – a wonderful return for someone who just turned 20 in February.
The youngster has even won 25 caps for Germany during the embronyic stages of his career, scoring twice in the process, and it is evident that he is going to be a star for the national team for the next decade or so.
Musiala has even featured in a World Cup for Germany and completed 13 dribbles against Costa Rica, the second most ever recorded during a World Cup game as his attacking talents were showcased to the world.
Klopp has added Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to his roster during the summer as he looked to bring the average age of his team down and Musiala would be another wonderful addition.
Is Musiala similar to Martin Odegaard?
The starlet is even statistically similar to Arsenal maestro Martin Odegaard. The Dane has been one of the key figures surrounding Arsenal’s recent resurgence since the start of last season.
From the start of 2022/23 to now, Odegaard has scored 19 goals and grabbed nine assists from an attacking midfield slot and his influence has helped the Gunners reach new heights.
Musiala also plays in that role often for Bayern and has performed to a similar standard since August 2022 and, according to FBref, he is the second most comparable player with Odegaard.
Indeed, the duo have registered similar statistics this season with regard to goals and assists (three to five), shots per 90 (2.3 to 2.12), pass success rate per 90 (85.2% to 82.8%), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.98 to 0.51) and progressive carries (20 to 26), clearly indicating that they both offer reliable threats in the final third.
Musiala’s former coach, Andre Martin, heaped praise on the then-teenager back in 2021, saying: "Technically outstanding, very skillful, and a player who can score all types of goals, inside and outside the box. And he's a great dribbler and likes to take players on, as he did against Schalke. He later became a No.10 and has become as much of a creator as a goalscorer."
These statistics and that description of his talent suggest that Klopp could unearth his very own version of Arsenal's Odegaard by securing a January swoop for the gem.
Therefore, the German boss should go all out to land his services ahead of the second half of the 2023/24 campaign.
Sunderland continued their charge up the Championship table last Saturday afternoon with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers.
The hosts had to deal with the wrath of Tony Mowbray's possession-based yet purposeful attacking football and the contrast in styles showed as the Black Cats recorded 72% possession, 407 more accurate passes, 22 shots on goal and an xG of 2.78, as per Sofascore.
A relentless and domineering performance at the Kiyan Prince Foundation stadium preceded a 5-0 thrashing against one of the favourites, Southampton, so when they travel to Blackburn on Wednesday night, Sunderland will be confident of making it three consecutive victories.
The cliché of not changing a winning team is often banded, however, Mowbray will have to go against this old chestnut as midfielder Pierre Ekwah was forced off in the 14th minute after sustaining a dead leg.
How has Pierre Ekwah performed this season?
After playing a bit-part role for Sunderland last season, featuring on 14 occasions in the Championship, Ekwah has become a vital cog in Mowbray's machine this term.
One of the first names on the teammate sheet, the 21-year-old has gone on to form an indispensable partnership with fellow youngster Dan Neil at the heart of the Black Cats' midfield, speaking highly about the Frenchman's in-demand physical and technical attributes when asked about him previously.
Neil said: "Yeah brilliant. He’s dynamic, he’s really strong, he’s got a great left foot on him.
“He’s been brilliant in training the last few weeks and I said to him you are going to get your chance because he’s been brilliant in training.
“With the international boys being away, Ed playing on Tuesday and it being a quick turnaround for him, this was his chance and I think he took it. I thought he was brilliant."
Stamping his mark on proceedings superbly since being given regular opportunities to impress, Ekwah has featured in all of Sunderland's matches so far, averaging 7.3 ball recoveries per game, 1.7 tackles, recording a pass completion of 90%, via Sofascore, and even scored two well-taken goals in the victory over Southampton.
Ahead of their trip to Ewood Park, Mowbray is hopeful that he could be fit, although it seems unlikely. As such, Sunderland will desperately miss the 6 foot 2 titans presence in the engine room without having a direct replacement for his strength, power and all-action displays, leaving Mowbray with a crucial decision to make.
Who could replace Pierre Ekwah vs Blackburn?
In his pre-match interview, Mowbray confirmed that his side had been hit with a double injury blow, leaving them without two of their most influential figures, Bradley Dack and Ekwah.
While Jobe Bellingham can continue in his advanced midfield role in the absence of Dack, the task of choosing someone to play in the double pivot is much more difficult to resolve, with the likely candidate being Alex Pritchard.
The 30-year-old performed admirably after coming on and replacing Ekwah against QPR, placing 86% of his passes accurately, crossing eight times, blocking two shots and making two tackles, as per Sofascore.
Pritchard is more readily known for the creativity he brings to the party, rather than the energetic and robust performances of Ekwah, but he can still do a job of keeping it neat and tidy in that deep-lying role while letting Neil do the dirty work, that is unless Bellingham drops into the deeper role and lets the former operate more advanced.
In the Championship last season, the £7k per-week Prichard has showcased how crucial of an influence he can have in the final third, ranking in the top 20% for progressive passes, the best 16% for assists, the upmost 5% for shot-creating actions and top 5% for key passes when compared against his positional peers per 90, via FBref.
If he can bring those creative metrics to the party against Blackburn, he will be a threat on the counter-attack but without having the energy and dynamism of Ekwah, they could lose the physical battle against the likes of Lewis Travis and Adam Wharton.
No mesmo dia em que Bruno Pivetti foi demitido do comando técnico do Vitória, o clube de Salvador anunciou em seus canais oficiais que Eduardo Barroca foi o escolhido para assumir a função.
-Eduardo Barroca é o novo treinador do Vitória. Carioca de 38 anos de idade, é um treinador que se encaixa no perfil rubro-negro: gosta de comandar equipes ofensivas. Ele será apresentado nesta quinta-feira (8) e iniciará os trabalhos para estrear no sábado, contra o Avaí – informou o clube.
Essa será a quarta experiência do profissional de 38 anos de idade em uma equipe profissional desde os trabalhos na base de Botafogo e Corinthians. Além da passagem na equipe carioca principal, ele passou por Atlético-GO e Coritiba, time o qual ele trabalhou por último entre janeiro e agosto desse ano.
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With the Premier League's increasingly global reach and its ever-growing popularity in America, it can be interesting to see which clubs have attracted the widest array of famous faces, something especially true with West Ham United. You may be surprised by some of the names on this list and wonder how on earth they even chose the East Londoners as their English team, but often, their reasons aren't too dissimilar from ours.
While you'd usually expect the rich and famous to support teams with a long and illustrious history of winning, like Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal, this group has instead pledged their loyalty to the Claret and Blue.
With that said, from professional boxers to actors and even a head of state, we at Football FanCast have taken a look at which celebrities support West Ham.
10 Ray Winstone
Now, there might be a few names on this list that shouldn't really come as a surprise to you at all, and one of those names is none other than British acting legend Ray Winstone.
When he isn't starring opposite some of Hollywood's biggest names, the 66-year-old can be found watching his beloved Hammers. On an episode of the Any Old Irons podcast Winstone explained that his love of the club extends beyond more than just the players on the pitch, saying:
"It’s not just the football but the area where I came from. I’ve got a thing on the wall here that says ‘in our family blood. If I’m on the other side of the world, and I might be in Australia, I remember being in the outback in Australia, and we got English newspapers flown in…you pick up the paper and there it was, the West Ham result.
"Don’t forget that because that’s where you’re made from and that’s everything to me, you know."
9 Lennox Lewis
While Winstone certainly has the credentials to play a hardman on the big screen, legendary boxer Lennox Claudius Lewis is the real deal.
Born 2nd September 1965 in West Ham, London, Lewis would represent Canada as an amateur and at the 1988 Olympics where he would win gold in the super-heavyweight category. Shortly after, he would make his way to professional boxing, where he would go on to have a genuinely unbelievable career, ending it as one of the greatest British fighters of all time.
In total, he had 44 fights, winning 41 – 32 by knockout – losing just twice and fighting out a draw once. He became the WBC heavyweight champion in 1992 and defended the title three times before losing it to Oliver McCall, only to win it back three years later.
Maybe most impressively, he fought with Mike Tyson in 2002 and won, cementing his legacy as one of the true great heavyweights in the modern era.
Outside the ring, Lewis is a massive fan of West Ham, so much so that in 2014, he was welcomed into the dressing room by then-boss Sam Allardyce to give a rousing pre-match speech to the players before they took on Norwich City. Unsurprisingly, the talk worked, and the Hammers emerged as victors.
I mean, you really wouldn't want to let down Lewis, would you?
8 Keira Knightley
Lucas Paqueta celebrates for West Ham United
Yep, Keira Knightley of Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually and Atonement fame is a massive lifelong fan of the Hammers.
In fact, she was one of the celebrities to partake in the Farewell Boleyn campaign that the club ran towards the end of their final year at the famous old ground. She sent in a video proclaiming her love for the stadium and the team, which was shared all over West Ham's official social media channels.
She also did her best to promote the Irons when she went on the American talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she explained the meaning behind the club's anthem 'I'm forever blowing bubbles':
"The problem with the song is that the song is really sad. The song is about not winning and is, in fact, about your dreams fading and dying the whole time, so it's not really a surprise that we lose all the time, when we have this song!"
Well, West Ham's recent European triumph might just have changed her outlook ever so slightly.
7 James Corden
James Corden has become a household name in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and through it all, he has remained a massive West Ham fan.
He shot to fame in the UK for writing and starring in the BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey, in which he plays the character 'Smithy', who he wrote to also be a die-hard Hammer.
In 2015, Corden succeeded Craig Ferguson as the host of the American talk show 'The Late Late Show' and shot to stardom in the States. Despite being thousands of miles away and in a country not really known for its love of football, he made sure to mention his beloved Irons as frequently as he could on air.
For example, towards the end of last season, he congratulated West Ham's under-18s for their FA Youth Cup win over Arsenal live on air. In June, he was also spotted in Prague for the club's Conference League triumph.
6 Russell Brand
Brand has had a career and personal life full of crazy ups and downs, but through it, his undying love for West Ham has remained. Born in Essex, the comedian come actor has been a fan of the Hammers his entire life and still often goes to watch matches when he's in the country.
He can sometimes be heard phoning into Talksport to discuss the club, most recently to discuss Declan Rice's record-breaking fee. While Rice's exit probably hurt, we're sure the European trophy softened the blow somewhat.
5 Danny Dyer
Okay, this one might be painfully obvious, but can you really make a list of famous West Ham fans and not include the one and only Danny Dyer? Of course you can't.
The quintessential Eastender, and now a regular on Eastenders, Dyer is a lifelong, diehard fan of the Irons who is now a part of the Hammers family courtesy of his daughter having twins with fan favourite winger Jarrod Bowen.
While he might not appreciate some of the new chants, witnessing the father of your grandkids score the winner in a European final for your club probably makes up for it.
4 Dave Grohl
He might be the only musician on the list, but we think being the drummer for Nirvana and the frontman for Foo Fighters probably makes up for that. But why on earth does Dave Grohl support West Ham?
Well, it goes back to the early 2000s when Dave was on an extensive UK tour with his new band Foo Fighters. The legendary drummer explained in an interview with VH1 that he was, and still is, a massive fan of the Premier League, and as he was spending so much time in and around London, he decided to pick the Hammers as his team.
Arguably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and one of the most influential people in cinema history, when Hitchcock wasn't working on another cinematic masterpiece, he was thinking about his beloved West Ham.
The Psycho director was a lifelong supporter of the club, born in Leytonstone, only about an hour's walk from Upton Park in East London. It's said that when he lived and worked in Los Angeles, he would get English newspapers delivered to his home every week to keep tabs on his Irons.
During his lifetime, he would've seen the club win multiple FA Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners Cup, and the Second Division title. Unfortunately he would pass away just before the club won a second Second Division title in the 1980/81 season.
2 Matt Damon
When you think of big Hollywood A-listers, it probably isn't long before you cast your mind to the Academy Award-winning Matt Damon. The Massachusetts-born 52-year-old has been nominated for 94 awards in his career, won 27 and, most importantly, is a self-confessed West Ham fan.
Damon's love of the Hammers grew from his time filming Saving Private Ryan in the UK. He explained that he was put off from supporting the then-dominant Manchester United as it was akin to supporting the New York Yankees in baseball – a cardinal sin for a devout Boston Red Sox fan such as himself.
After watching some Leeds United games with a colleague and coming to the conclusion that they were "terrible" – his words, not ours – he landed on West Ham as his new team, a happy medium at the time.
Given the last 12 months, we think he probably made the right choice there.
1 Barack Obama
Yes, you read that right, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama is in fact a West Ham fan, and therefore he surely has to be the most famous one of the lot, surely.
While it may seem highly improbable that a man who was once the most powerful individual on the planet is an Iron, it's true, at the East Londoners have made sure to make the most of this fact as well, wishing him a happy birthday on their official Twitter account in 2016.
Apparently his love of the club comes from a visit he paid to his Kent-based half-sister Auma in 2002. This earth-shattering revelation came from one of his campaign advisors during his 2008 election campaign:
“Obama is a big sports nut and loves his soccer.
“He never really followed it, though, until he was told all about the passion of West Ham fans by some of his English relatives. He’s always keen to find out how his adopted club are getting on.”
Some clubs might be able to boast a famous actor, musician, or filmmaker amongst their fans, but only one can claim Barack Obama as their own.
And there you have it, ten of the most famous West Ham fans around.
It's a pretty impressive list to read, and it's mightily refreshing to see some of the globe's most famous faces opting to support one of the sides outside the traditional 'big six'.
What they say must be true then; West Ham really are massive everywhere they go.