A massive Rick and Morty mural is being erected on the stadium front of Old Trafford and people online have been scratching their heads as to the reason why.
Pictures of the large multi-panel banner being assembled outside the East Stand, hanging just above the United Store entrance, began circulating on social media on Tuesday, 28 September.
What's this about, Rick from Rick and Morty on a massive banner outside Old Trafford…spot the broken window! pic.twitter.com/rOUdPEmgDQ
But even before then, single posters of the titular characters were spotted flanking either side of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.
Given how many people travel past this iconic landmark every day, seeing two giant images of arguably the most popular cartoon characters in the world right now is sure to have caused a few double-takes.
Erm, just walking within eyesight of Old Trafford and there’s massive banners of Rick and Morty up on the Sir Alex Ferguson stand… pic.twitter.com/BHsIASuscd
Manchester United fans and tourists are more than used to seeing the latest United campaign, player collage or special poster – the latest being the tribute to Queen Elizabeth II – but it isn’t often you’ll see an external brand take up this kind of wall space. Well, ad space.
As many of you may have guessed already, the Rick and Morty poster outside Old Trafford is, of course, another marketing idea and although the Red Devils don’t have a sponsorship deal with Adult Swim or Netflix, they do have one with Adidas.
It may have slipped past you over recent months, but the hit animation has recently partnered with the sportswear brand for a number of adverts such as promoting their new X Speedportal football boots.
Official Adidas athletes like Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Arsenal Women’s Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema both starred as their animated selves for a fictionalised game. However, the ad campaign clearly hasn’t stopped there.
Like Miedema herself, Arsenal have been an official Adidas partnered club since 2018 and they too helped promote what the show describes as their “living” episode, ‘Wormageddon’ to celebrate the launch of the sixth season. This involved a number of statues dotted around the Emirates Stadium:
With that in mind, while we ascertain the exact nature of this Rick and Morty x Adidas x Manchester United ad, if you look closely at what portions of the posters have already gone up, there’s a clear hint at what the club are getting out of it.
Besides wearing the Adidas mentioned above, if you closely at the image of main character Rick, you can see he is wearing what looks to be United’s recently released third kit under his trademark lab coat:
So there you have it; it might have looked a bit of an odd sight at first glance but there’s actually a very logical explanation.
At the end of the day, United have so many commercial partners at this point, we wouldn’t put it past them to secure a direct partnership with Rick and Morty somehow. They did one with Deadpool after all.
Everton are reportedly already hoping to sign Jack Grealish from Manchester City permanently
Danny Jones
Everton FC are reportedly already considering signing Jack Grealish on a permanent deal after an impressive start to his spell on loan from Manchester City.
The former Aston Villa talisman has struggled to remain in the starting XI under Pep Guardiola since joining the club in 2021, but since arriving on Merseyside, he’s already been a difference-maker in every match for the Toffees thus far.
Grealish has not only registered four assists in just two starts for Everton but also won the very first player of the month award in the Premier League this season for his contributions.
Safe to say he’s fast made a big impact over in Liverpool – hence why it is now thought that manager David Moyes wants to make his transfer permanent.
Becoming just the 10th Toffee to ever win the accolade, the Birmingham-born creator is now thought to be the primary transfer target, despite the summer window having only recently closed.
He writes that despite the deal between Everton and Man City already including a £50 million option to buy next summer, that number is “not fixed and is more a consequence of accounting than a set price.”
The England international still has two years on his contract in the blue half of Manchester, but the previous valuation (which is half the amount City paid for him in a then record fee for a British player), so it is believed that he could be signed for an even better cut-price offer as his deal runs down.
Put it this way, it looks like the supporters would do just about anything to keep him at the Hill Dickinson.
Jack Grealish giving his shirt to an Everton fan after their brilliant win away at Wolves today.
Bascombe goes on to explain, however, that his salary considerations could be a significant obstacle. Grealish is estimated to be earning approximately £12m a year, which is almost certainly too rich for Everton’s blood.
Taking that into account, it’d be a case of whether or not the Brummy forward would be willing to accept a much lower wage to depart the Etihad Stadium for Everton long-term; alternatively, waiting for him to become a free agent in a few transfer windows’ time would also be an option.
What about you, Blues: would you like to see Jack Grealish stay and fight for his place under Guardiola, or would you understand/support him making his Everton permanent?
Interestingly, there could be yet more shuffling of the pack in the middle of the park for Pep, as a forgotten man is apparently going to be given another chance to revive his City career…
Kalvin Phillips is reportedly set to be reintegrated into the Manchester City squad
Danny Jones
Long-exiled Manchester City player Kalvin Phillips is reportedly on the verge of being reintegrated into Pep Guardiola’s squad this season.
The ex-Leeds United star, who signed for the Blues back in 2022, has still only made just 16 appearances for the club, but could now be eyeing up a potential renaissance.
Man City have made plenty of signings this year, but with a number of outgoings and several injuries in key positions, it looks like there could be an avenue for the one-time England international to fight his way back into the team.
As per Telegraph Sport‘s Mike McGrath, Kalvin Phillips is set to be reintroduced to City’s 25-man Premier League selection; the question is, can he make it into a first-team XI?
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Kalvin Phillips has chance to resurrect career at the Etihad Stadium after failed loan spells with Ipswich and West Ham
According to McGrath, Phillips will be “given a chance to resurrect his career at the Etihad Stadium” with the meat and potatoes of the 2025/26 campaign still yet to get properly underway.
Now 29, the Yorkshireman is well and truly within the crucial ‘prime’ years as an athlete, and after such an extended period on the sidelines, he’ll be more motivated than anyone to get his career back on track.
The central defensive midfielder – who was formerly considered a key cog in the middle of the park for Leeds – has spent two loan spells away from the Etihad, but neither really worked out for the undeniably talented footballer.
Having joined West Ham for the latter portion of the 23/24 term and spending the last 12 months on loan at struggling Ipswich Town, his time at both clubs was pretty forgettable, punctuated by little more than a couple of unfortunate red cards and more time on the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports fairly recently, he confessed that the last couple of years have been very difficult and was visibly emotional discussing his struggles since moving to Man City.
It’s also worth noting that Guardiola himself has admitted to feeling “so bad” for Kalvin Phillips’ situation – perhaps why he now looks like he could be given a second chance.
CDM-wise, Rodri and Nico González are considered the go-to options, but Stockport-born Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovačić have also been used in the role.
Once again, although Man City face somewhat of an injury crisis ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, any prolonged absences could at least see an opportunity arise for the forgotten man.
What do you make of Kalvin Phillips’ chances of being restored to the Manchester City squad and maybe even putting himself back into national team contention ahead of the World Cup?
Danny Jones -
28th September 2022 
