Stormzy has been grabbing headlines after taking on the role of football pundit following Manchester United‘s win over Liverpool yesterday.
The trailblazing London-born rapper – who is just one of Manchester United’s famous fans – has being going viral on social media after he jubilantly gatecrashed a live TV interview on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football (MNF) programme and shared his views about the Red Devils’ 2-1 impressive victory over Liverpool last night.
While the usual MNF cast of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, and Roy Keane stood in front of an empty Old Trafford in the classic Manchester rain to give their post-match verdict of United’s first Premier League win of the 2022/23 season over fierce North West rivals, the 29-year-old chart-topping grime MC was spotted at the side of the pitch off camera.
He was then ushered in by Neville, and greeted the three former footballers and host with a hand shake.
Dressed in a Manchester United top with his hood up, and stood alongside his young nephews who also appeared on camera, Stormzy waved at some fans who recognised him from the stands and then admitted that he was “a bit flustered right now”.
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“I’ve never met these guys before. We were just walking past and we were starstruck and someone gave me a mic and I’m up here like ‘Mum, I made it’,” he added with a smile
“This is sick though. Man’s on telly with the boys.”
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After getting over initially being starstruck and settling into the role of would-be football pundit, the MNF team wanted to make the most of having the former Glastonbury headliner with them, and continued to ask him a couple of questions.
When asked to offer his opinion of Manchester United’s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo – who was actually dropped from the starting lineup by new manager Erik ten Hag for the Liverpool clash, Stormzy continued: “You know what it is with Ronaldo, when he’s that great, you can’t speak on him man.
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“You’ve just got to let the man be great, do you know what I mean? There’s been a bit of a fuss but that’s a GOAT.
“You just have to let the GOATs be the GOATs.”
For fans of the Vossi Bop singer, his presence at Old Trafford might not come as much of a shock, but not everyone understood what was happening, with United’s former captain Roy Keane appearing quite shocked, adding: “I thought this was a football show, what’s happening?”
After the interview aired live on Sky Sports, clips have been circulating on social media and racking up tens of thousands of views and interactions from football fans – with many commenting how funny it was to see a famous person still able to be starstruck.
“Stormzy headlined Glastonbury at 25 but is flustered by being interviewed on MNF – what a man,” one person said on Twitter.
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Another said: “Stormzy’s MNF cameo was surreal.”
“I love that Stormzy is always a natural fan and ain’t too proud to express it,” a third added.
Stormzy’s appearance on Monday Night Football was fresh off the back of him getting up on stage with Coldplay as the band finished up their finished their sell-out six-night residency at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night.
He performed his 2018 hit ‘Blinded by Your Grace Pt. 1’ alongside the band
Formula 1 fans will also know this isn’t the only time Stormzy has given an unsuspecting sporting TV interview in recent weeks either, as he also went viral after being interviewed during Martin Brundle’s grid walk at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last month too.
Colourful Simpsons-themed cafes pop up inside Manchester’s Primark stores
Emily Sergeant
Cafes inside Primark stores across the UK are being transformed into The Simpsons-themed foodie hubs for a limited time only.
You may remember that Grinch-themed cafes popped up inside Primark on Market Street in Manchester city centre, as well as Primark in Trafford Palazzo during December, which were a hit with fans of the furry green character – with everything from green waffles and themed milkshakes, to festive toasties, hot drinks, and more on the menu.
A new life inspired by the legendary animated sitcom, The Simpsons, that is.
Get ready to step into Springfield, as from now right through until the beginning of May, Primark shoppers can get their D’oh-nut fix and much more, with each cafe kitted out with Simpsons-themed menus and decor.
The special themed menu includes a wide selection of waffles and toasties, and also plenty of drinks and shakes to choose from, including an indulgent Chocolate Marshmallow Hot Chocolate, and a scrumptious Strawberry Doughnut Shake.
Prices start at £4.25 for drinks, and £5.50 for food items.
The menu is filled will themed delights inspired by the beloved animated sitcom / Credit: The Manc Group
“We’re serving up a slice of Springfield with our latest cafe theme, giving fans a taste of The Simpsons right in our stores,” explained Tim Kelly, who is the Director of New Business Development at Primark, as the cafes opened across the UK last week.
“We’re always looking for new ways to create fun and memorable experiences for our customers and our themed cafes have been a big hit, so we can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction in store.”
The Primark Café with The Simpsons is now open in Primark’s Manchester Market Street, and Manchester Trafford stores, as well as in Birmingham, Belfast, Braehead, Edinburgh, and Cardiff until the beginning of May.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Tyson Fury has announced his ‘retirement’ from boxing (again) along with a cryptic message
Danny Jones
Manchester boxer Tyson Fury has seemingly confirmed he is retiring from boxing once again for the third time?… We’re not even sure at this point.
The Wythenshawe-born juggernaut of the heavyweight division lost consecutive fights for the first time in his career following the defeat in a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk back in December 2024 and, for all intents and purposes, it looks like they may have been his final professional fight.
Having first argued that the judges favoured Usyk in the first fight due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine; Fury once again believed the decision was unfair in the second bout but, either way, he claims that the Riyadh Season showdown was his last appearance in the ring.
Taking to social media on Monday, 13 January, the 36-year-old said he wanted to keep the announcement “short and sweet”, proceeding to announce his retirement from boxing to nearly seven million followers on Instagram along with a somewhat cryptic message for them to take away with them.
If all is to be believed at this point, he seemed pretty positive and nonchalant about the whole thing. He proceeded to state that he’s “loved every single minute” of his career, adding “God bless, everybody and I’ll see you on the other side.”
There wasn’t too much to read into with his caption either, which simply read: “Thanks, it’s been a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way! Happy New Year. Jesus is king now and forever”.
However, it was the penultimate line with which he signed off that has raised an eyebrow among a lot of those reacting to the news online, as he referenced infamous highwayman and thief, Dick Turpin, who famously wore a mask to conceal his crimes during the 18th century. Interesting indeed.
People online have been speculating plenty around exactly what he might have meant with this mysterious remark but many that it could just be another nod towards the belief that he was ‘robbed’ of a victory in Fury vs Usyk 2, having claimed the latter was given an “early Christmas gift.”
Regardless, plenty are expecting it won’t be long before Fury comes back out of retirement to lace his gloves back the very second the right offer comes in for him to finally fight Anthony Joshua, even if both of them aren’t quite the dominant name they once were when the face-off was first floated.
Most crucially, the general consensus is that Tyson Fury isn’t really retiring because this, of course, isn’t the first time he’s claimed he was calling it a day.
‘The Gypsy King’ famously ‘retired’ for the first first time over a decade ago after the plans for his fight against David Haye fell apart for the second time back in 2013, making the announcement with nothing more than a few dismissive words on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Then, in 2017, we did the dance all over again after a string of teases and ‘pranks’ towards the end of 2016 which culminated in him writing in a since-deleted post: “Been very blessed in my life & career achieve the utmost in boxing, was a epic journey along the way.
“Thanks to all the fans that supported & believed in me along the way. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. THE END.” But it obviously wasn’t the end…
He was back in the ring by 2018 and Fury went on to declare that his 2022 win over Dillian Whyte was his farewell fight before going on to fight Derek Chisora just six months later.
You can see how people have trouble believing that it’s for real, right?
Whether or not he is being serious this time, only time will tell but one thing is for sure is that fans would still love to see him and AJ come up against each other if a fight contract were to materialise after all this time – especially as they both have a point to prove given their recent respective records.
As for Fury, one clip that came back to haunt him in the wake of the rematch against Usyk will remain a lasting memory for many of those who have followed his career from the start to now: