Rory McIlroy has admitted he turned down the opportunity to invest in Leeds United soccer club, but not because he didn’t think it was a viable business proposition. Instead, it comes down to the team he supports.
In an interview with the BBC, the 34-year-old explained that his love for Manchester United meant he couldn’t bring himself to buy a stake in the club.
Following Leeds United’s relegation from English football’s Premier League in May, the club was taken over by 49ers Enterprises, which includes investment from Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
However, they couldn’t persuade McIlroy to get involved too. He said: “They asked me if I wanted to come on board and I was like, as a Man United fan, can't go anywhere near that.”
Leeds United are known as one of Manchester United's greatest rivals, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that McIlroy felt he couldn’t put money into the club, although he admitted he remained open to the possibility of an investment, however small, in the Old Trafford giants.
He said he would have "loved to have taken a 0.0001% share" in the club during the ownership of the Glazer family, who are now looking to sell up, and continued: "If another opportunity comes my way I will definitely look at it. To be able to own even a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of the club you grew up cheering on would be very cool."
McIlroy isn't the only player to turn down the chance to invest in Leeds United. Along with Thomas and Spieth, Rickie Fowler had also been lined up for a stake, but later backed out of the move, which led to him being heckled.
After the incident during The Open, he was asked if he could still invest in the future and replied: "No, no, that's already all done. Hopefully it all works out with JT and Jordan being involved. My financial team just didn't necessarily advise for it, so we decided not to. But I hope they play well and kind of get things turned around because I know JT and Jordan would be very happy with that"
Despite also passing up the opportunity to invest in Leeds United, McIlroy has shown he is unafraid to put some of his net worth, which is estimated to be in excess of $200m, in other sports.
Last week, it was reported that McIlroy had invested in the Alpine F1 team along with Premier League soccer star Trent Alexander-Arnold and heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua.
Rory McIlroy has invested in the Alpine F1 team
In the BBC interview, McIlroy also addressed on-course matters, namely his heated moment with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava at the Ryder Cup, revealing that the pair had put it behind them, saying: “We’re all friends now.”
Following the match at Marco Simone, which Team Europe won 16.5 to 11.5, McIlroy’s next appearance is set for the DP World Tour Championship in November.
