Rory McIlroy opens up on real reason for turning down Leeds United investment

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Rory McIlroy has revealed his loyalties to Manchester United was the main reason behind opting to not be involved in the recent Leeds United takeover. The 49ers Enterprise took control of Leeds earlier this year, with a number of big sporting names also involved.

Two PGA Tour stars in Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth opted to take the dive into football, having invested in the Championship club as part of the takeover. According to McIlroy, Thomas and Spieth asked if he wanted to be involved, something the Red Devils fan was quick to turn down.

He told Sky Sports: “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!”

United themselves are in the midst of a saga surrounding their ownership of the club, after long-time owners the Glazer family put the Premier League side up for sale last winter. Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad appeared to be leading the takeover charge but opted to withdraw his bid I’m $6 billion in recent weeks.

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This left the door open for rival investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is set to take a 25 percent stake in the Premier League team, alongside majority shareholders, the Glazer family. Amid the recent surge of sports stars turning to club ownership, McIlroy was quizzed on whether he would be interested in investing in his boyhood club.

And it seems the Northern Irishman is open to the idea. “I would love to be able to own a tiny percentage of the club I grew up cheering on as a boy,” he added. “I would have loved to have taken 0.00001 percent of Manchester United when Jim Ratcliffe took 25 percent.

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“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… 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.”

McIlroy has ventured into the world of Formula 1, after teaming up with soccer stars Trent Alexander-Arnold and Juan Mata, as well as boxer Anthony Johnson to be part of the £173m investment led by consortium Otro Capital in F1 team Alpine.

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