U.S. soccer is so desperate for the game to get positive publicity that we generally welcome it when a Drew Carey or a Steve Nash declares himself a soccer fan. It’s different in the more skeptical U.K., where The Times newspaper has come up with a highly entertaining Top 50 list of the worst celebrity fans — namely, the famous people you’d definitely not want supporting your team. The suspicion being that the celebs are declaring their love of soccer out of a relentless and cynical drive to publicize themselves rather than because they genuinely follow the game.
Here are a couple of samples: Oasis singer Liam Gallagher (Manchester City). “Mad-for-it Manc who loves Manchester so much that he lives in a plush pad in North London about 200 miles away from his roots, man. Real fan? Definitely maybe.”
Actor Hugh Grant (Fulham). “Posh, handsome, plummy leading man who has been playing the same role in every film he has starred in since 1438. Almost as boring and predictable as Fulham were under Lawrie Sanchez.”
Michael Jackson (Exeter City). “The King of Pop arrived at [Exeter’s stadium] St James Park in a blaze of publicity in 2002 to lecture the locals about world peace and harmony. He did it as a favor for Uri Geller, his spoonbending friend and former Exeter chairman. Exeter were relegated out of the Football League the following season. Jackson has not been back since.”