An online survey has suggested that Manchester United is the most hated company in Britain, putting it above the likes of McDonald's and Ryanair.
United came top of a poll conducted by Online Opinions of over 1,000 people and secured 26% of the overall vote with the club's success, power and huge worldwide following given as reasons for its perception among other fans.
''Manchester United is possibly a victim of its own success and the way it is viewed by passionate fans of its rivals but it is different for banks and utilities,'' a spokesman for the survey company revealed.
''Banks get billions of pounds to rescue them from the public then go and splash out millions on bonuses while the rest of the country is in recession - no wonder they are so disliked. And utilities keep raising household bills at a time when people can afford them the least yet they still seem to be making lots of profits.
''With other companies, the reasons are more personal. Ryanair is probably the most popular airline in Britain thanks to cheap fares yet passengers still moan about having to pay for their luggage or booking by credit cards.''
Full results:
• Manchester United - 26%
• Ryanair - 23%
• British Gas - 22%
• McDonald's - 19%
• RBS - 17%
• Lloyds Bank - 16%
• Starbucks - 14%
• BT - 13%
• Sky - 13%
• easyJet - 10%
• Network Rail - 9%
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/899726/manchester-united-most-hated-in-uk---survey?cc=4716Manchester United
