Conservative leader Rishi Sunak is a ‘massive football fan’ (Picture: Getty)
Rishi Sunak, the unelected Prime Minister of the UK who recently called a General Election, is a ‘massive football fan’ but which club does he support?
Sunak replaced Liz Truss back in 2022 and the Conservative leader is fighting for his Government to stay in control as the nation heads for the polls on July 4.
He is under huge pressure from Labour leader Keir Starmer, who has made no secret of the fact that his loyalties are with his beloved Arsenal.
But who does Sunak support? Well, it’s not Arsenal or any of the other big six clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City.
Read on to find out which football team Sunak supports…
Which football team does Rishi Sunak support?
Rishi Sunak was at St Mary’s in December to watch his team in action (Picture: Getty)
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His party may be blue, but Rishi Sunak’s loyalties are firmly on the red side of the south coast and he is a big fan of Southampton Football Club.
Yes, that’s right, Sunak supports Southampton FC, who just clinched promotion to the Premier League after beating Leeds United in the Championship play-off final.
His favourite player is Saints legend Matt Le Tissier – now better known as an online conspiracy theorist – and Southampton-born MP Sunak has previously said he would love to one day run the club.
Sunak’s father Yashvir had a season ticket to watch the Saints and Sunak said that he was given a card signed by the whole squad for his 18th birthday, which became ‘one of his most prized possessions’.
What has Rishi Sunak said about Southampton?
Rishi Sunak recently celebrated Southampton’s promotion (Picture: Getty)
At a hustings event in Exeter in 2022, Sunak was asked what line of work he would have been in if he did not enter politics.
‘I’m a massive football fan, I’m from Southampton and if I would get to be able to run Southampton [I would do that],’ he said.
After receiving a cheer from one of the members of the crowd, Sunak added: ‘Oh, wow, is there a Saints fan here? Look at that, brilliant.
‘Well, there’s three of them. Amazing. Well, if I could run Southampton Football Club, I would be a very happy man.’
In August 2022, Sunak again spoke about Southampton, explaining how his club could end a bad run of results.
‘I’m going to be unpopular for saying it here, starting by beating [Manchester] United this weekend,’ Sunak said, despite the fact the Saints were due to play Leicester instead.
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Sunak has also tweeted about Southampton in the past, for example in November 2020, when the south coast club sat at the top of the Premier League table.
‘Taken 32 years but worth the wait,’ he posted alongside a picture of the table. ‘Now let’s hope it lasts.’
Southampton, currently managed by Russell Martin, are back in the Premier League for the upcoming 2024-25 season.