My United: Afrobeat superstar Maulo

 

His latest single Roll It came out late last year, and will be followed by his second EP later in 2023.

The club's official magazine, Inside United, caught up with the singer-songwriter in February to discuss his love for the Reds...

“It all started when I was a kid. I remember for my seventh birthday I wanted everything on my birthday table, all my United presents, to be the number seven. Seven is an iconic number and very much associated with United. David Beckham, who was my favourite player, wore that number, as did Cantona and Ronaldo, and it was my lucky number – even to this day. My dad is a Liverpool fan so when the United-Liverpool match is on, we’d rather not watch it together! It makes United-Liverpool games very, very interesting. But the last time we played them at Old Trafford, thankfully, wasn’t too much fun for him!”

 

“David Beckham. And you know what? It was not just because of how good a player he was – it was for what he stood for outside of football too. He was an iconic man here in England and in the States – at the World Cup, on the TV, you see how much love he receives. Growing up, it was a different world to me.”

“I watch them on my TV! I’ve not been to a game yet, but in January [2022] I went on a tour of the stadium and that felt unreal. It felt crazy being inside Old Trafford and imagining the fans on matchday. I will definitely be there – God willing, this year one of my goals is to come down and watch a match.”

 

“Yes! Hearing my music at the fight... it was an unexplainable feeling. Being inside the ground with all my family, my older brother and my younger sister, it was mind-blowing. I couldn’t believe it. At that moment, I felt lost in there – I forgot it was my music! When I saw people taking pictures of me and videos, I realised: ‘Oh, I’m still here’ – I came back to life! To hear my music at a United game at Old Trafford would be crazy. I’d probably pass out or something! It would be nice if it was my latest single Roll It, but any of my songs would be amazing.”

“Not really as a kid. But I think this season’s home shirt and the blue and white away kit [from last season] are my favourite ever. I’ve got two of each of them! That’s how much I like them.”

 

“City! Back in the day, you never thought we’d concede a goal against them – never mind lose. Now when we play them you think we may win or we may lose. Back in the day it was 100 per cent we were going to win. How times have changed!”

 

“I remember a lot of Beckham’s free-kicks and goals, but I still remember Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal from near the halfway line against Porto away in the Champions League. That was crazy, an unbelievable goal. That is one that really sticks out to me. Giggs’s goal against Arsenal [in 1999] was amazing, too. He was like Messi!”

“They’re all my favourites! The whole team. I understand that there is a new manager and he is trying to make the team better at the moment, so we might not get good results all of the time, but you can see how hard everyone is striving for the club. Anyone in the team at the moment, you have to give them respect. I have a lot of respect and admiration for them. And for them to be in a United shirt, they must feel privileged. It’s great to see players like Marcus Rashford putting so much back into the community, too. We’ve got some good young players coming up like Garnacho, so there’s a lot to be excited about.”

 

“My all-time favourite United player would still have to be Cristiano Ronaldo. Sorry! But his football and his numbers speak for themselves – especially for United.”

 

“I’d be lying if I mentioned the Busby Babes because I’d be lying if I said I understood football back then. So it would be that team that won the Champions League in 2008, with the likes of Vidic, Rio and Evra at the back, Rooney and Ronaldo and Tevez, van der Sar. I really enjoyed football back then and that was when I was playing, so I could play up front!”

 

 

“Ronaldo and Rooney up front. I’d be in the middle and just pass them the ball! In defence I’d have Rio and Evra. As my goalkeeper I have De Gea – I really like him, he’s really good. If not him then I’d choose van der Sar, he was great, too. Now this would be a good side. They would beat anyone on any given day, and twice on a Sunday!”

 

Maulo's starting VI: David De Gea; Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra; Maulo; Rooney, Ronaldo.