FORMER Liverpool star Fabio Borini has revealed he bought a house in Cheshire that once belonged to ex-Manchester United chief Ed Woodward.
The 34-year-old will be remembered for his stints with Liverpool and Sunderland in the Premier League.
He netted three times for the Reds and managed 17 goals for the Black Cats before having spells in his native Italy with AC Milan, Hellas Verona and Sampdoria.
Borini is still playing football after signing for Gary Neville’s Salford City in League Two, signing a short-term deal with the club this month.
His new club places his close to his new home, which was once valued at around £2million when former United CEO Woodward lived in it.
But the Italian has told the Times he was given a cut-price deal to buy the house four years ago after it was targeted by protesters.
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Woodward came under fire from United fans in 2020, when a gang of hooded supporters launched a smoke bomb and fireworks at the property.
The gang congregated outside and rang an intercom on large gates at the entrance to the sprawling house before spraying it with red paint.
Explaining the process of buying the house, Borini said: “We bought the house four years ago, actually from the former CEO of Man United, Woodward.
“Because of the protests outside, everybody was worried, so I said, ‘Don’t worry I’ll buy it, get the price down!’”
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Woodward, his wife Isabelle and their twin daughters were not believed o be home at the time of the incident.
Woodward, now 53, left United in 2021 and has since taken on roles with AI sports firm Sentient Sports and Bloomsbury Football.
As for Borini, he also spoke about why he decided to drop down to League Two to play for Salford.
He said he was just eager to play football, no matter what level, and saw Salford as an ambitious club being well run.
He said: “I spoke with Alex over the summer about the possibility and said I’m open to the opportunity of coming to Salford even if it was League Two.
“They said, ‘Yes, you come and train, give a little bit to the group, be around the guys and help us, in a way, to understand if we’re doing the right things or the wrong things and you get fit’.
“It doesn’t really matter the league or context, it’s about football. Salford is being built to be a proper football club.
“It’s not like they’re throwing money around for no reason, it’s football people running a football club.”
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Borini, who picked up one cap for Italy, also played for Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk.
He enjoyed a superb season for the club as recently as 2022-23, when he netted 19 times in the Turkish Super Lig.
