Back in the day when shirt sponsorship of football clubs cost thousands not millions, Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson planned to strip off on live television to reveal a full Crystal Palace kit – but it nearly ended in disaster
Flying baron Sir Richard Branson is tipping Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup and lift the first trophy in their history.
The Eagles fan and billionaire tycoon, who sponsored Palace for just £10,000 in the season when they reached the Cup final 35 years ago, fancies Oliver Glasner ’s side to beat Aston Villa in the semi-final – and go all the way. Branson, the third oldest person to fly in space on his Virgin Galactic rocket VSS Unity four years ago, believes Glasner’s side are out of this world.
And he told the Grumpy Old Men of Football podcast: “Good luck to Palace in the semi-final – I think it’s their year.” The Virgin tycoon revealed: “We’ve come a long way since the time we sponsored Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final.
“Back then we had one second-hand 747 that flew out of Gatwick, and Palace were our local football club. We sponsored the club for £10,000 and they put ‘Fly Virgin’ on their shirts. Despite being an unfancied team they ended up in the FA Cup Final against Manchester United with the help of two wonderful strikers in Ian Wright and Mark Bright.
“It was the best ten grand we ever spent. Next year the price went up to millions and we quietly withdrew!”
Branson was once saved by his wife from the ultimate wardrobe malfunction when he planned to show off Palace’s kit on live TV and she spotted a potentially embarrassing ‘imposter’ in the nick of time.
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He revealed: “I was appearing on ITV before the game and I intended to enter in my normal clothes and then strip off to reveal the full Crystal Palace kit underneath. As I was leaving for ITV, my wife Joan asked what I was looking so pleased about, so I told her my plan to strip off on television and then gave her a sneak preview.
“Joan replied, ‘By the way Richard, your willy is hanging out of your Crystal Palace shorts’. If it wasn’t for Joan pointing out my wardrobe malfunction, I would have made a right proper p***k of myself.”
The 1990 final was a six-goal thriller, with Wright – racing back to fitness from a broken leg – scoring twice in a 3-3 draw against Manchester United. Lee Martin’s goal in the replay gave United a 1-0 win, handing Sir Alex Ferguson his first trophy as United manager – just months after he was perceived to be on the brink of the sack until Mark Robins’ winner at Nottingham Forest in the third round.
This time, Palace wore an unfamiliar change strip of banana-and-chocolate stripes.
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