ISL: If I can't have Kolkata, I can't have any other city, says Shah Rukh

Disappointed that he could not buy the Kolkata franchisee of the Indian Super League despite best efforts, the Bollywood superstar said he could not bring himself to buying another city

Kolkata: Disappointed that he could not buy the Kolkata franchisee of the Indian Super League football tournament despite best efforts, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he could not bring himself to buying another city.

"I will say something which is unfortunate and sad for me. I really very much wanted to be a part of ISL and I wanted to own a football team but there was no way that I would have got Kolkata and if I can't have Kolkata I can't have any other city," he told reporters here last night.

Shah Rukh Khan

Khan, who also co-owns IPL franchisee Kolkata Knight Riders, said he had met everyone involved to buy the Kolkata ISL franchisee which was eventually bought jointly by former cricketer Sourav Ganguly, businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, Utsav Parekh and Spanish club Atlético Madrid.

"I was offered every other city but I said I won't do it. If I can't have Kolkata as a football team then I won't play football for life," he said. He, however, congratulated Ganguly, with whom he shared bitter-sweet vibes during IPL. "More deserving than me is 'dada' (Ganguly) and he should have it and I can't compete with him...I wish 'dada' and everyone in the championship. I hope it does well." He said the team is in better hands than him and would do well.

"Even today when I was flying down I felt very sad that I don't have the football team of Kolkata. I started IPL because I was told that IPL will extend into soccer. My love is for football. I play football, my son plays football and my daughter is the captain in football," the actor-producer said.

"If we play football we have to play for Kolkata, you don't play for any other city. I have all my love for Mumbai and Delhi but the city I back is Kolkata," Khan said.

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