Traditional club mourns
“Manchester United” died at the age of 62
October 21, 2025 – 7:27 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
He even changed his name out of love for Manchester United. Now his family is mourning the loss of a man whose heart was apparently too attached to his club.
The 62-year-old Marin Levidzhov from Bulgaria was an avowed fan of the “Red Devils” for decades. His passion went so far that after the Champions League triumph in 1999 he decided to officially change his name to “Mr. Manchester United”. Now he died on October 13th.
In an interview with the British tabloid “The Sun”, his sister-in-law Elka Cankova reported how much the English record champions’ recent sporting decline had weighed on him: “For him, Manchester United was his whole life.” Bankruptcies particularly affected him: “He was very emotional, and after a defeat he was very depressed.”
The weak phase of the team, which had recently defeated Liverpool FC 2-1 last Sunday, had taken its toll on him: “From the moment United got worse, things went downhill for him too.” It’s possible “that it killed him,” Cankova said. Ultimately he died of a heart attack.
Marin Levidzhov didn’t just live out his admiration for his club in his thoughts. He had the club’s emblem engraved on his forehead, furnished his apartment with fan merchandise and regularly documented his fan love. He decided to change his name after the legendary Champions League final between Man United and FC Bayern in 1999, which the English club won 2-1 shortly before the end.
“Manchester United” started the fight for its new name one day after the triumph. At first he was able to take the first name “Manchester”. It was only in 2014 that he was officially allowed to call himself “Manchester Zdravkov Levidzhov-United”.
Meanwhile, the club reacted to the death and was “saddened by the news of his death”. A United spokesman said: “We are saddened by this news and extend our condolences to his family and friends.”