The Premier League has its newest celebrity fan, with Ed Sheeran delighted to find his beloved Ipswich Town back in the top flight after a long absence. The famous singer-songwriter was at Portman Road for the opening game of the season against Liverpool, but had to make a hasty exit at half-time.
Unsurprisingly, the media fawned over Sheeran's presence, with former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch scoring the coveted interview with the "Shape of You" performer. The 33-year-old has recently been made a minority shareholder at Ipswich, following on from a long-standing jersey sponsorship arrangement.
Expressing his delight at being there for the occasion, Sheeran admitted he would not be able to stay for the full 90 minutes. He assured fans that his new ownership role would not involve anything like calling the shots on transfers, and provided an immediate reminder that he won't be quitting his day job to pursue football club ownership (it's far from a Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney situation).
Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Adrien Truffert link, Goncalo Inacio talks, Joe Gomez explores move Joe Gomez left out of Liverpool squad vs Ipswich Town as Chelsea shows transfer interest"I have to leave here at half-time because I'm playing in Serbia tonight," Sheeran revealed to TNT Sports ahead of the match. "We almost couldn't even come to the game but we had to."
It's been a busy few days for Sheeran, who was at Wembley recently being brought out by Taylor Swift. The pair have collaborated numerous times over the years, and enjoy a close friendship.
Meanwhile, he is in the middle of his "Mathematics Tour". Much like Swift's Eras Tour, which came to Anfield earlier this summer, it's a showcase of music from all of his previous albums, which have been named after mathematical functions.
Sheeran managed to catch a positive 45 minutes from Ipswich, with the newly-promoted team actually fashioning the better chances in the opening half. But it could not find the breakthrough against Liverpool, and also picked up a flurry of yellow cards.
Liverpool.com says: Fair play to Sheeran: he's been supporting Ipswich in a very material way through his jersey sponsorship deals, and now he gets to see his club in the big time. With the ownership stake, he's more involved than ever.
He must have been gutted to have to leave: put it down to poor tour scheduling! But his team gave a good account of itself.
