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Belfast Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Rory McIlroy's jet lands in Belfast amid speculation he will be at Europa League final
Rory McIlroy's private jet has been spotted in Northern Ireland amid speculation the Masters champion is on his way to the Europa League final. The £38m Gulfstream G650ER touched down at George Best Belfast City Airport at around 6.40am this morning. However, it was back in the air within an hour after taking off at 7.26am. The sighting during the quick stop has fuelled speculation that the Co Down golfer and lifelong Manchester Untied fan will be attending tonight's Europa League match between the Red Devils and Tottenham Hotspur in Spain. Around 80,000 fans have travelled for the big game which will kick-off at the San Mamés Stadium, home of Athletic Bilbao. It comes after Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim sent a video invitation to McIlroy following his Grand Slam victory last month. "Hi Rory. Congratulations for the Masters, and I want to invite you to Old Trafford to show your trophy,' Amorim said. "It is really important for us in this moment. You achieved something a lot of people thought that would be impossible and we want that feeling in our stadium. "So I hope to see you soon at Old Trafford and to meet you." Accepting the invitation, McIlroy promised to bring the iconic Green Jacket to Old Trafford saying 'if it can inspire some better play, absolutely' when asked if it would be with him. Paul Kimmage at the US PGA: 'I thought golf was supposed to be fair' While not at Old Trafford – tonight's clash will see two Premier League sides take a shot at salvaging their domestic seasons by securing a place in the Champions League. Five-time major winner McIlroy has suggested he plans to one day invest in his favourite football club. He has previously told Sky Sports that 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 and using their money in the right way'. He continued: 'I would love to be able to own a tiny percentage of the club I grew up cheering on as a boy.' Earlier this month, McIlroy confirmed his intention to return to the UK in June in what could be a permanent move with his family. The sports star revealed building work on a new property near the Wentworth Club in Surrey is now finished meaning it is ready for the champion to move in with his wife Erica Stoll and their daughter Poppy. The couple told the Daily Telegraph that they bought a plot of land in the exclusive private estate which lies less than an hour and a half west of central London – which explains why Rory's private jet landed in Farnborough Airport before he came home to NI last month. 'Straight after Augusta we travelled over to see the house as it was going through the finishing touches,' he told the publication. 'It was fun to see and we could have stayed in it, but we wanted to get over to Holywood.' While he has no plans to sell his southern Florida mansion, which he uses as his US base when competing in tournaments there, Rory did hint at the possibility of making his new pad a permanent abode.
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'The case for Leicester is bleak and the Championship beckons'
Leicester fans are numb to their struggles now. At the final whistle of Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Manchester Untied, The King Power Stadium was barely a third full. Those who remained could hardly muster a jeer. A new top flight record - not just in the Premier League - of seven straight home defeats without scoring, added to their wretched run of losing 13 of their last 14 games. The banner 'from dogs of war to doggy daycare' showed the dissent towards the Foxes' board. It was a snappy flag and has a point but it was all too fleeting, with the fanbase resigned to their fate. An immediate return to the Championship is now growing ever closer with Ruud Van Nistelrooy's side nine points from safety with nine games left.A repeat of their great escape in 2015, which paved the way for the stunning title success a year later, is highly unlikely. Ultimately, the squad is not good enough. They are worse than the squad relegated in 2023. The financial constraints meant Van Nistelrooy was unable to spend sufficiently - only bringing in defender Woyo Coulibaly from Parma for around £3m in January. It has meant - despite all the squad's respect for the manager's honesty and clarity at the training ground - he has lost 14 of his 18 games since replacing Steve Cooper in case for Leicester is bleak and the Championship beckons.
