Stephen Ireland claimed Man United star had poster of him on his wall

Stephen Ireland has hit headlines for a bizarre interview but another outrageous claim from the former Manchester City star has emerged.

Ireland made 170 appearances for City scoring 23 goals. His best season came in the 2008/09 campaign, when he scored 13 goals in all competitions from midfield and won the club's Player of the Season.

He went on to play for the likes of Aston Villa, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers - though he left the latter without playing a single game.

The 36-year-old's last game was for Bolton's development squad but he was in the news this week for comments which many branded "deluded".

He was talking about the best players he played against but claimed the majority of huge names "never really got the better of me".

Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes were mentioned, with Ireland stating he "never had a game where I thought ‘God, I’m out of my depth’, that was never the case."

The former Republic of Ireland international did wax lyrical about Eden Hazard but also talked up his own abilities in the 2008/09 season.

But Ireland does have previous for this type of thing as in 2020, he claimed that Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes told him he had posters of him on his wall.

The two, who live three doors apart on the same road in Cheshire, did forge a connection during lockdown and regularly attended training sessions to stay fit while socially distancing.

As per Ireland, Fernandes also used to sign him on Football Manager back in the day when he was growing up.

Speaking to The Athletic, Ireland said: "He (Bruno Fernandes) told me that, as a kid, he had a poster of me... He said that when he played Football Manager he always signed me. I was like, 'You had me on a poster? And, seriously, you sign me for FM?' I mean, how weird is that?"

In the same interview, Ireland revealed that United were interested in signing him, as were both Spurs and Arsenal - and that he's been reliably informed that Sir Alex Ferguson made him the crux of his team talks ahead of derby games.

He added: "What I like is when I hear feedback from the United guys and they say, ‘Every time we played City and we had team meetings, he (Sir Alex Ferguson) would only talk about you’. They say Ferguson used to tell them I was the only one to worry about. It was, ‘Man-mark Ireland, stop Ireland — wherever he goes, follow him’. I’d have Darren Fletcher following me the whole match.”

Topics: Bruno Fernandes, Manchester City, Manchester United

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

@joshlawless_