Tyson Fury has admitted that it was England’s humiliating Euro 2016 defeat to Iceland, rather than Manchester United’s decline, that finally convinced him to give up on football altogether.
The former heavyweight champion has explained that his love for the game had long been eroded, but the Three Lions’ collapse in France nine years ago proved the final straw.
Roy Hodgson’s team were overwhelming favourites in that round-of-16 clash yet crumbled to a 2-1 defeat despite taking an early lead, in what remains one of the national side’s darkest nights.
“I used to support England as well, but when they lost to Iceland in the Euros in 2016, that was me and football completely done with,” Fury told Racing TV at Cartmel Racecourse this week. “Now I’m into horse racing, get up.”
England infamously lost to Iceland back in 2016 at the European Championships
|GETTY
The Gypsy King went on to reveal that United’s woes had also pushed him further away from the sport.
He had once been a regular visitor to Old Trafford, even paraded on the pitch during a match against Arsenal in December 2018 just days after his first fight with Deontay Wilder.
In subsequent years he was spotted at key fixtures including the 2019 Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona and a 2022 clash against Arsenal, and last March he caught up with Sir Alex Ferguson when United knocked out Liverpool in the FA Cup.
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But those visits masked a growing disillusionment with a club that has failed to compete seriously for the Premier League title since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
Last season’s 15th-place finish was United’s lowest since the competition was rebranded in 1992, and Fury made clear that he no longer has the stomach to follow them through their struggles.
“I’m not a supporter of football really,” the 37-year-old said.
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England players look on in horror following their defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016
|GETTY
“I used to support United, but because they’re in the s**t now, I’m no supporter of any football teams anymore.”
The frustration is one many United fans share.
The Red Devils have finished in the top four just once in the past four seasons, and under current boss Ruben Amorim they have already stumbled out of the blocks this year, losing to Arsenal on the opening weekend before being held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham.
Fury’s blunt verdict is in keeping with his no-nonsense public persona, but it also underscores how far United’s reputation has fallen among some of their most famous supporters.
Once synonymous with trophies, they have watched Manchester City and Liverpool dominate English football over the past decade while their own rebuild has lurched from one false dawn to the next.
For Fury, however, the sport itself appears to have lost its appeal.
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Tyson Fury has also given up on Manchester United amid their current woes under Ruben Amorim
|PA
England’s capitulation against Iceland combined with United’s decline has left him fully invested in other passions - namely horse racing, where he has been seen at courses across the north-west.
“I’m done with football,” he reiterated, with a shrug that suggested there is no going back.
Whether United can return to winning ways against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup tonight remains to be seen.