hoop tales Dermot Desmond denies Conor McGregor approached him to buy Celtic

Businessman Dermot Desmond has denied he was approached by Conor McGregor to buy Celtic - despite the UFC star claiming he was in 'talks' to buy the club.

UFC superstar McGregor previously suggested he had held talks with Desmond over acquiring shares in the Glasgow club from the 71-year-old.

In March, the MMA fighter also tweeted he was exploring buying Celtic "from Dermot Desmond, Manchester United from the Glaziers".

However, McGregor's claims has been flatly denied by billionaire financier Desmond in a new interview with Celtic TV.

“Nobody's ever approached me about buying or selling shares - nobody. And that's in the last 27 years or so,” Mr Desmond has said.

"I've no intention of selling shares, not now, not in the future, even if somebody offers me a price three or four times the current share price, I'm not selling.

“Fortunately, I've been privileged and honoured to be a shareholder of a club I've supported as a youth and I've been a fan for well over 50 years,” he added.

"Therefore, I'll continue to be a fan and shareholder of the club and hopefully contribute to the continuous development of the club."

71-year-old Desmond is a majority shareholder of the Glasgow club with a 34.7 pc stake.

The Cork born businessman previously held a stake in Manchester United but sold out to Malcolm Glazer in 2005.

Earlier this year, in a now deleted tweet McGregor said: “I do not speak in jest. I am exploring this, as I said. A football franchise purchase is in my future, make no mistake about it.”

He has also expressed interest in purchasing Manchester United.

Back in May 2021 he told a fan on Twitter: "A conversation came up regarding Celtic first to be honest. To acquire shares from Dermot Desmond. I am certainly interested in acquiring a sports team at some stage!

"Both Celtic and Man United are teams I like for sure. But I am open. I feel I could do big things for a club."

He most recently expressed his interest in buying Chelsea F.C from Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich.

On social media, the Dubliner shared a screenshot from a WhatsApp group in which he appeared to write: “Chelsea for sale £3bn (€3.6bn). Let’s buy it.”

He captioned the photo: “I wish to explore this,” and tagged Chelsea FC in the tweet.”

It wouldn’t be McGregor’s first foray into the world of football either.

The keen sportsman already owns his very own football club, Black Forge FC, named after his Crumlin boozer The Black Forge Inn.