Leeds United fan spends £500 on Man Utd tickets at charity auction and then sets them on fire

One Leeds United fan paid £500 for tickets to a Manchester United game, in a charity auction, only so he could set them on fire.

It's fair to say, that outside of their own fanbase, the team from Old Trafford are not exactly the most well liked Premier League team.

In a survey back in 2019, fans of 10 other teams revealed they considered the Red Devils as one of their top five rivals, and that was without data from Chelsea supporters.

Even clubs such as Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace had the 13 times Premier League winners on their list, which would have meant for some confusing feeling for Palace fans on Saturday, as Erik ten Hag's side beat Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final.

Leeds weren't the top tier four years ago, but there's no doubt their fans would also put their cross-Pennines rivalry in the top five for their club.

One fan proved that recently, by spending half a grand on hospitality tickets at Old Trafford, just to set them on fire in front of everyone else at the auction, as you can see in the video below.

There was a mixed reaction to the action, with some fans, even those who follow Javi Gracia's team, claiming that the actions were 'a bit cringe.'

Others liked the decision to burn the tickets to ashes, claiming it was 'absolutely class,' whilst some pointed it was just a performative act.

Of course, as you can see in the video, the 'ticket' in question was just a PDF printed onto an A4 piece of paper, not like the tickets of old.

Whoever was in charge of the auction can simply print out another one, whether it's for that Leeds fan or, perhaps more likely, someone else who actually wants it.

At the end of the day, the charity still made £500 from the banter, so whether you think it's 'cringe' or 'bitter,' there's no real harm done.

The two United's have a storied rivalry. Image: Alamy

Leeds fans aren't too popular themselves outside of Elland Road, although they are still more popular than their fellow United followers.

According to a recent study, Manchester United have the most disliked fanbase in England's top division, beating rivals Liverpool into second place.

Fellow 'Big Six' clubs Chelsea and Arsenal were next on the list, with Leeds coming fifth, ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, and the Yorkshire club's fans are more hated by Man Utd fans than Liverpool fans are, the feelings are all mutual.

Topics: Football, Manchester United, Leeds United, Premier League

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

@Sidler28