Virat Kohli will watch Man City take on Man United in Saturday’s FA Cup final… as the legendary batsman takes a break from preparations for India’s World Test Championship final against Australia
Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma will watch Manchester City go head-to-head with Manchester United in their FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
The legendary cricketer is in London preparing to take part in the ICC World Test Championship final with India ahead of the game starting on June 7.
India will play Australia in the one-off Test at the Oval, and hope for a repeat of the side’s last meeting in March, which saw India claim the series 2-1 and win the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the fourth successive time.
As per ANI, Kohli and Sharma will be guests of sports label Puma, Man City’s kit sponsor and a brand that the cricketer has partnered with since 2017.
But although the pair are set to be hosted at Wembley by the blue side of Manchester, Kohli might have mixed allegiances on the afternoon.
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma will attend Saturday’s FA Cup final between City and United
The iconic batsman has been preparing for India’s World Test final against Australia at the Oval
The two Test sides last met in a 2-1 series win for India in March after the final game in Ahmedabad ended in a draw
An avid football supporter, the 34-year-old is an enormous fan of former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, following the player throughout his career.
Kohli previously declared himself a Juventus fan when CR7 plied his trade in Serie A, and has long followed the fortunes of Portugal at international tournaments.
The batsman penned an emotional message to Ronaldo after his national side were knocked out of the Qatar World Cup in December by Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Taking to Twitter, Kohli wrote: ‘No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you’ve done in this sport and for sports fans around the world.
‘No title can explain the impact you’ve had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That’s a gift from god.
‘A real blessing to a man who plays his heart out every single time and is the epitome of hard work and dedication and a true inspiration for any sportsperson. You are for me the greatest of all time,’ Kohli finished, tagging the Al-Nassr striker.
The former national team captain also has his own football team, after purchasing a stake in FC Goa, which competes in the Indian Super League.
Saturday’s final marks the first time a Manchester derby has been played at an FA Cup final, and the first time that the teams will meet at Wembley since their semi-final clash in 2011.
Despite both Kohli and Sharma being Puma brand ambassadors, the cricketer could have lingering allegiances to United due to his admiration of Cristiano Ronaldo
Erik ten Hag will be looking to clinch a second trophy during his debut season at Old Trafford
The stakes are incredibly high, with City keen to take the next step in the hunt for their historic Treble after winning the Premier League, while United are determined to stop them.
Erik ten Hag is adamant that his players will be solely motivated by the pursuit of their second trophy of the season – after winning the Carabao Cup in February – but Marcus Rashford has hinted that ensuring City were not able to match the club’s peerless 1999 season is a thought that will be at the fore of the squad’s minds.
Speaking at the club’s end-of-season awards ceremony where he received both club Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year, the England starlet cited his ‘most important’ goal.
‘Ensuring Man United remain the only English club to do the Treble? That’s the most important thing,’ the 25-year-old insisted.