Over the past month or so, The United Strand’s Frank Ilett has gone viral owing to his claim of not having his hair cut until Manchester United win five straight games. He came close to ending his challenge on Tuesday before his beloved team recorded a 1-1 draw against West Ham United in a Premier League away encounter at London Stadium.
Subsequently, top European clubs have now taken the opportunity to poke fun at Ilett.
Clubs Engage in Banter With Manchester United Fan
After four straight wins over Arsenal, Manchester City, Fulham, and Tottenham Hotspur, the Red Devils were in a position to help end Ilett’s 494-day challenge. But, in the end, Michael Carrick’s side were held to a stalemate at West Ham following a goal each by Hammers star Tomas Soucek and Red Devils ace Benjamin Sesko on either side of the break.
After the end of the Premier League draw, Manchester City’s official account posted a photo of Norwegian striker Erling Haaland smiling with his hair open. The X account captioned the image, “Nothing wrong with growing out your hair.”
La Liga side Real Betis also joined in on the banter and remarked in an X post, “The dream is over.” The account quoted the Red Devils’ X post about their recent result.
Bundesliga team, FC Augsburg, quoted one of their previous posts about Manchester United potentially ending Ilett’s challenge and wrote on X: “You had one job.”
Furthermore, German outfit Borussia Dortmund posted a video of former Brazilian defender Felipe Santana shaving ex-Germany midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz’s head in April 2011. The account referenced Ilett’s situation and wrote on X: “What could’ve been…”
Czech soccer club Slavia Praha opted to congratulate Soucek for becoming the joint-highest Czech goalscorer in Premier League history after Manchester United’s 1-1 stalemate at the Hammers. The account wrote on X: “Day 2205 of becoming the top Czech goalscorer in the Prem. (Tomas Soucek) made history while ruining haircuts in the process.”
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Meanwhile, England and Manchester United great Wayne Rooney has hit out at Ilett for not allowing the focus to remain on the club’s sporting side amid its recent form.
“He’s doing my head in… we’re talking about Michael Carrick and United trying to win their fifth game in a row and the whole thing is about this guy getting his hair cut. I bet he’d be devastated if United win the fifth game because, all of a sudden, he’s irrelevant,” Rooney, the Red Devils’ all-time top goalscorer, said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
The Old Trafford side will next face Everton in an away Premier League clash on Feb. 23.
