Every Premier League club’s most famous fan

Georgi Kinkladze is still friends with the Gallagher brothers to this day. The ex-Manchester City playmaker got chatting to the Oasis lads back in the 90s and he told FFT this issue that he was impressed by the pair's fanatical devotion to the club.

“Oasis always had my respect, as they were die-hard City supporters and wouldn’t miss a match unless they were on tour,” Kinkladze said. And these Rock N Roll Stars aren't alone - incredibly famous people follow the Premier League, just like the rest of us. 

So who’s your club’s biggest fan? And we mean fan – someone who actually attends games and screams at the telly, not just an A-list actor who was presented with a shirt once.

Arsenal

Take your pick. Arsenal are followed by politicians (Keir Starmer, John Bercow, Jeremy Corbyn), comedians (Dara O’Briain, Matt Lucas, Alan Davies) and actors (Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Daisy Ridley) alike. They’ve even got infamous supporters who disgrace the rest of the bunch – see Osama Bin Laden and Piers Morgan.

While Jay-Z and Chris Martin have visited the Emirates in recent years, there isn’t much proof that the pair are diehards. Likewise, Prince Harry reportedly supports Arsenal but hasn’t spoken as much about football as his brother, William. Rihanna was friends with Mesut Ozil, but we’d wager that she hasn’t been through the hardships of the Nicklas Bendtner days to truly call herself a Gooner.

In terms of proper Arsenal fans who are genuinely excited about Gabriel Martinelli, the most famous is probably Idris Elba. Luther himself helped run the 'No More Red' campaign of this season and appeared in a kit launch video for the club's 2019/20 kit, claiming “I could’ve played for Arsenal you know,” before telling his mates that he was top scorer at Under-9 level for Canning Town. Perhaps Mikel Arteta’s found a long-term replacement for Alex Lacazette…

Aston Villa

As the biggest club in a major UK city, it’s understandable that Aston Villa have plenty of notable followers. Three-quarters of Black Sabbath, actor David Bradley and even former PM David Cameron all follow the claret and blue – though Cameron did once forget which team he supported and claim to be a Hammer instead.

But in terms of who takes the title of the most famous, it’s hard to argue with Prince William. He seems to genuinely loves the club, looked mightily upset when handing runners-up medals to his team in the 2015 FA Cup final and has gone on record about how much he loves Aston Villa. He’s president of the FA too, which is more of a credential than most of us have to prove we love the beautiful game.

Is he the most famous fan though? Tom Hanks is apparently a big Villa fan – since 2001, no less. And only one of them played Forrest Gump...

Bournemouth

Bournemouth isn't exactly a big town – and its club aren't particularly big, either. Many residents actually support Southampton, so picking a most famous fan is a tough ask. 

Seth Rogan is apparently a Cherry, but is he actually? Probably not. Former Celebrity Masterchef champion Jayne Middlemiss is reportedly a fan, too – it's doubtful just how big, though, considering she's not from the area. Alex James from Blur said he was a fan on Soccer AM once, so we'll give it him – partly because the only other big shout is for Matt Tong, the drummer from Bloc Party, who used to be on the AFCB fan forum. It's slim pickings, unfortunately.

Brentford

Cameron Diaz is apparently a Brentford fan. That's pretty impressive - though it's reported that the Hollywood A-lister is a Bee thanks to restauranteur Dan Tana, so it's unlikely she'd be able to pick Thomas Frank out of a line-up. 

Greg Dyke is a fan of Brentford (though it's claimed he also follows Man United), Dean Gaffney from Eastenders supports the club too, while Phil Collins used to watch the Bees before getting a season ticket at QPR. Ex-Sky Sports presenter Natalie Sawyer and Yes keyboard Rick Wakeman are both fans, too: we like to imagine them sat together.

Though they're not the most famous people individually, however, we're going to give the title to Hard Fi's Richard Archer and The Bluetones' Adam Devlin as a joint bid, since their devotion is perhaps stronger than anyone else's. Their bands are quite famous, too – more when combined – and together they recorded a song dedicated to ex-winger Jota. 

Brighton & Hove Albion

One name comes to mind when you think of Brighton fans. Well, two, depending on whether you call him Norman Cook or Fatboy Slim. He’s the town’s most famous export and has played gigs at the Amex.

Cook is in good company though. Des Lynam, Jon Snow (from the news, not Game of Thrones) and Simon Cowell are all Seagulls, though Cowell has admitted his is more of a passing interest than a full-blown fanatical devotion. Jamie Theakston and Michael Fish complete a who’s who of yesteryear faces who also follow the Albion.

Chelsea

Situated in one of the poshest areas of London, it’s perhaps no surprise that Chelsea can count Natalie Dormer, Jeremy Clarkson, Mark Ronson, Ellie Goulding, Gordon Ramsey and Cara Delevigne as Blues fanatics. Damon Albarn from Gorillaz has had a season ticket most of his adult life too, and even led a chant at a gig in Belgium, in tribute to Eden Hazard.

In terms of the most famous fan, Will Ferrell is up there: he’s appeared at Soccer Aid and now owns Los Angeles FC, so it’s genuine support, rather than wanting to look cool and fit in with other celebrities. But even Ron Burgundy probably can’t argue with Alfie. 

Michael Caine has followed the west Londoners through the thin as well as the thick, famously telling a reporter once that he was off to watch the Blues on his “big high def” telly. Not a lot of people know that.

Crystal Palace

Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan was apparently once shocked when star of Schindler’s List, Star Wars and Taken, Liam Neeson, phoned him asking for tickets to Selhurst Park. There are conflicting reports regarding Neeson’s penchant for Liverpool too, but there are other stars who are confirmed Eagles fans.

Comedian Eddie Izzard once claimed, “All I really want is for Crystal Palace to win every game from now until the end of time - that's all”; two of The Inbetweeners follow Palace too (Simon Bird and James Buckley) and Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid sang Wilfried Zaha’s “He's just too good for you” chant on air after he had been called up to the England squad. Apparently, even Nigel Farage is a Palace fan.

Bill Nighy has to be the most famous, though. The Love Actually star is patron of the CPFRIS (Crystal Palace FC Fast Results & Information Service) Disabled Children’s Club and one Christmas, he addressed the Palace faithful, speaking of his pride to be an Eagle. 

Everton

Beatle Paul McCartney grew up an Everton fan but later admitted he supports local rivals Liverpool as well, given his connection to the city and some of the Reds’ biggest stars. Macca says that he has “special dispensation from the Pope”, but it does weaken his shout for the most famous Toffees fan around, even if he was in the most famous band of all time. 

Rocky star Sylvester Stallone is reportedly a big enough fan of Everton to regret not buying them in 2007. His boxer pal Tony Bellew is a diehard toffee himself, but perhaps not the most well-known of celebrities to follow them. Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud, Amanda Holden, Shane McGowan and John McEnroe could all be considered pretty famous Blues.

But perhaps the best bid belongs to Judi Dench. Not only is M herself a big fan along with her husband and son, she’s a patron of Everton's official charity, Everton in the Community.

Fulham

Fulham have a surprisingly famous fanbase. Rather like Chelsea, they're situated in west London – but still, boasting the likes of Hugh Grant, Barry from Eastenders, Richard Osman, Keith Chegwin and Eminem (apparently) is impressive. 

The most famous, though? It's not even close: Margot Robbie has said she's a Fulham fan and been pictured with a Whites' scarf. Given that she's actually been spotted at the Cottage a few times too, it seems fair to give her the title. 

Leeds United

Leeds is a one-club city, making Leeds United massively supported. The Kaiser Chiefs are named after Leeds legend Lucas Radebe's former club, while Nasser Hussain, Nick Faldo and Ken Hom all follow the Whites.

There are certainly big shouts for the most famous. Chris Moyles was the biggest radio DJ in Britain at one point, Ed Miliband almost became PM – and actually didn't share his liking of football much as he feared it would count against him at the polls – while Gareth Gates, Jeremy Paxman and Jon Bon Jovi have all been counted in the Elland Road faithful in the past.

But the winner? Russell Crowe. The Kiwi-born actor narrated Leeds documentary Take Us Home but he's actually a massive supporter, having followed them for years. "I used to come home from sport in the afternoon, me and my brother, and watch Match of the Day," Maximus Decimus Meridius himself once claimed. He will see them win the Premier League one day – in this life or the next. 

Leicester City

Mention the words “Leicester City” and one man comes to mind. Gary Lineker doesn’t just take the crown of Leicester’s most famous fan and player, but their most famous son while he’s at it. His dad owned a market stall in the town centre and on uni open days at Leicester University, students are shown where Linekers’ parents live en route to the accommodation. The man basically runs the city.

Lineker isn’t the only talented footballer with allegiances to Leicester. Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno is not just a decent player – as proven on Soccer Aid and Soccer AM – he’s so crazy about his club that he wore their socks when having trials with another club. Serge’s close friend and Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding is supposedly a Colchester fan, though.

Leicester can also count Manish Bhasin from BBC Sport in their fanbase, crooner Engelbert Humperdink and Lib Dem politician Lembit Opik. The 2003 rugby hero Martin Johnson is also Leicester born and bred, meaning Lineker isn’t the only famous England World Cup star from the area.

Liverpool

When you’ve been the kings of Europe six times, you’re bound to pick up some big admirers: still, boasting Nelson Mandela, Angelina Jolie, Samuel L Jackson, and LeBron James is taking the biscuit.

That’s not all. Dr Dre has been a fan since 1988 – perhaps he’s heard John Barnes rap – but given that he said he “read about” their 2001 UEFA Cup win, he’s perhaps not the biggest Red. Gary Barlow counts himself a Liverpool fan but given Take That pal Robbie Williams’s links to Soccer Aid, if he was as big a fan as Robbie, we’d probably all know about it.

US songstress Lana Del Rey has claimed that she loved watching Luis Suarez play and got into Liverpool a few years ago. While that’s pretty cool, we’re going to give the most famous Red to Daniel Craig. When meeting the likes of Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah, he looked genuinely starstruck, which is impressive considering he has a license to kill. 

Manchester City

There's only one team in Manchester, so the old joke goes. Pick almost any famous face from the city and you'll fine they might be blue rather than red: Ian Curtis, Johnny Marr, Rick Wakeman, Alan Carr, Timothy Dalton and Alan Rickman are or were all reported followers. Pre-money, too.

As much as it would annoy them to pick David Hasselhoff over them as Manchester City’s biggest fan, though – yes, apparently that’s true – there’s no denying that Noel and Liam Gallagher are the two biggest Citizens going. Noel has been on Super Sunday, interviewed Mario Balotelli and even celebrated titles with the squad. 

He’s not just a City fan though, but a good luck charm for Italy. After Alessandro Del Piero spotted him at a match in 2006, he asked the Oasis star to come to the World Cup final, in the same clothes, as he believed him to be a good luck charm. “It goes without saying,” Gallagher recalled. “Who won the World Cup? Noelly G.”

Manchester United

Manchester United have the most supporters in the world. It’s unsurprising then that the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Megan Fox, Justin Timberlake, Steve Coogan and Thom Yorke are all Red Devils. But who’s the biggest?

Eamon Holmes got into United because of George Best and even read a eulogy at his funeral. Drake has claimed to support United but famously flip-flops between clubs, cursing them as he goes. Karl Pilkington, Rory McIlroy, Danny Boyle, John Simm and even Kim Jong Un are all apparently fans too. A special mention must go to rapper Dave, who openly references the club in his music and was even been pictured trying to tap up Jadon Sancho for a move while the winger was at Dortmund.

The fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, is a huge Red and has been pictured at United games and their training ground a few times now - but we’re going to pick Stormzy as the most famous, given that he’s on the up and Bolt’s star has peaked (sorry, Usain). Big Mike even helped unveil Paul Pogba.

Newcastle United

It’s certainly not Mike Ashley.

Newcastle is a massive city with massive fans. See Sting, Cheryl Cole, Brian Blessed, Gabby Logan, James Bay, Sam Fender and even Tony Blair, whose prized possession is a No.9 shirt signed by Alan Shearer.

Really though, there’s only ever going to be one winner. Well, two. Ant and Dec are the Toon’s most famous export/s, appear on the odds list to manage the club every time the manager's job is vacant. Howay, the lads. 

Nottingham Forest

Forest were massive in the 70s so it's no surprise that they've had their fair share of famous fans over the years. James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers, cricketer Stuart Broad and politician Ken Clarke are all apparently supporters. 

But we're going for Carl Froch. He's certainly famous enough and displayed his fanatical devotion to the Tricky Trees by wearing their colours in interviews and appearing on Soccer AM. Plus, we don't dare argue with him that he's not the most famous.

Southampton

It’s not a great start when you mention a member of Coldplay that isn’t Chris Martin. Drummer Will Champion, however, has a season ticket at Southampton. 

Lucy Pinder, Chris Packham and David Frost all make the cut of famous Saints fans (some more famous than others), but probably the most famous must go to Craig David. The RnB singer has been a fan of the club all his life, but he often misses midweek games, given that he’s usually making love on Wednesday. 

Tottenham Hotspur

Louis van Gaal is a legend at Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich. But he grew up a Tottenham Hotspur fan, citing Jimmy Greaves and the “fantastic white shirts” for his fandom. 

He’s not the only surprising Spurs fan. Avelino, Annie Mac, JK Rowling, AJ Tracey and Dave Bautista all claim to follow the Lilywhites, while legendary broadcasters Trevor McDonald and Barry Davies are also apparently huge Tottenham fans. A special mention should also go to Lord Sugar, who was chairman of the club at one point, but remains a loyal fan to this day (even if he did admire Arsene Wenger).

The most famous Spurs fan though has to go to Adele. She's headlined Glastonbury, won Grammy and Brit awards… but hasn't received quite the same accolades for her rendition of "Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur", unfortunately. 

West Ham United

A debate rages over the biggest celebrity West Ham United follower. You see, if Queen Elizabeth II really does follow the Irons, she’s undoubtedly the top corgi. But did she call Dimitri Payet a judas when he left? Would she declare “one thinks Mark Noble is the East End Xavi”? According to rumours, she took a shine to Cesc Fabregas when Arsenal visited the palace years ago: if she is a Hammer, she’d have been livid with him joining Chelsea.

Since no one’s likely to confirm Her Majesty’s support for West Ham any time soon, we have to fall back on the famous faces we know support them. Ray Winstone, Kriss Akabusi, Keira Knightly, John Cleese, Len Goodman and Triple H is quite a line-up. Russell Brand even interrupted Sam Allardyce’s post-match interview to kiss him.

Love him or loathe him, it’s probably James Corden for the most famous. The TV host and Tony Award-winner has made no secret of his love for West Ham, and his character Smithy Gavin and Stacey from is naturally also a Hammer. So it’s Corden. Unless it’s the Queen. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Luke Skywalker supports Wolverhampton Wanderers. OK, Mark Hammill was asked to support them by a fan group and later admitted, “I only became an accidental ‘fan’ when someone asked if I liked the wolves and I said yes because I thought they meant the animal.”

Of Wolves’ fans who actually know they’re fans, Beverly Knight, Eric Idle, Edward Elgar and apparently Mike Tyson have all been reported to follow the club. Andy Murray has worn their shirt to training, though that was more because his manager supported them. Potentially the most famous must go to Robert Plant though, lead singer of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin and vice-president of the club. Plant has been a fan of the club since he was 5. 

“It's been a bloody murderous journey. This is paradise,” he said of his time following the club and their promotion under Nuno.