Ex-Man City star is cashing in big on the club’s banana trend
Manchester City’s fun banana craze is giving a boost to one of their former players’ wallets.
After the Premier League found City guilty on 115 charges, fans showed their support by bringing inflatable bananas to the away section at Anfield during the 3-0 win over Liverpool last weekend. This banana tradition, which first started back in 1987, has now come back strong, with thousands of bananas also appearing at the Etihad Stadium for games against Paris Saint-Germain and Ipswich Town.
The idea was started by a fan named Frank Newton at a match with Plymouth Argyle and became linked with former City striker Imre Varadi, who earned the nickname “Imre Banana.” Back then, the bananas were a fun way for fans to lighten the mood during a tough time when City were in Division Two and football had problems with hooliganism.
Nowadays, the bananas show the strong spirit of City fans facing a challenging period. And Varadi is happily benefiting from this resurgence. The ex-striker, who also played for Newcastle, Everton, and Sheffield Wednesday, created a business selling inflatable bananas—and he calls it a “billion-dollar industry.”
Varadi told The Sun that his company sells the branded bananas for £10 each, along with pin badges and t-shirts. He says they’re getting thousands of orders worldwide and demand has “gone through the roof.” The website describes the bananas as a “beloved symbol of friendship and fun at stadiums worldwide,” perfect for any matchday.
At 67, Varadi was even invited to the Etihad for the Ipswich game and got some VIP treatment. Talking to the Forever Blue vlog, he said, “It’s amazing to see, especially at Anfield last Sunday, a sea of yellow bananas. It’s brought the fans, players, and club closer together, and there’s great support right now.”
He added that the bananas stand for “joy, happiness, fun, and a winning team that City keeps showing here at the Etihad.”
City’s players are loving the bananas too. Phil Foden, who scored his first Premier League goal since December in a 3-2 win over Ipswich, even brought an inflatable banana to his post-match interviews. He said he plans to give it to his son Ronnie as a gift.
“I’m going to get one for my son as a present,” Foden told the club’s media channel. “I think he wanted one, so now I can give him one.”
Foden also told Sky Sports that the pressure from the charges hasn’t affected the players. “We’ve just stuck together, done what we always do, focused on each game, and just been ourselves.”