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You won't believe what Manchester United chief Ed Woodward was doing last night
GARY LINEKER celebrated his birthday last night - and was surprisingly joined by Manchester United chief Ed Woodward.
Ed Woodward pops in to Gary Lineker's birthday party
Tottenham and Leicester legend Gary Lineker commemorated his 56th birthday with a lads-only celebration at Latin American restaurant MNKY HSE in Mayfair, London.
Lineker posted a picture on Instagram with his four sons, Manchester United executive vice-chairman Woodward, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish and soap actor Jake Wood, who is famous for playing Max Branning in Eastenders.
"Boys birthday bash," the former England striker captioned the snap.
Ed Woodward hired Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager in May
Ed Woodward replaced David Gill at Manchester United in 2013
Good heavens, my neighbour Ed Woodward is the new chief exec of Manchester United, taking over from David Gill, and he never said a word
Woodward is seen with his arms around fellow Premier League chief Parish and another man in the pic, beaming a smile like everyone else.
At first it seems surprising that Manchester United's power-broker and one of football's most influential men is celebrating Lineker's birthday.
But the pair used to be neighbours, with Lineker tweeting this message when Woodward took the top job in the Old Trafford boardroom from David Gill in 2013.
"Good heavens, my neighbour Ed Woodward is the new chief exec of Manchester United, taking over from David Gill, and he never said a word," Lineker said at the time.
And it seems Lineker and Woodward have stayed close, with the former accountant heading down to London to celebrate his birthday.
Manchester United drew 1-1 with London outfit West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday and host the same opposition tonight (8pm) in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
Ed Woodward is Manchester United's executive vice-chairman
Manchester United meet West Ham again tonight in the EFL Cup
Jose Mourinho, who Woodward hired to replace Louis van Gaal in May, needs a victory to ease the pressure after he was sent off during the draw with the Hammers.
Reports suggest Mourinho wants Woodward to back him in the transfer market in January, despite already doing so to the tune of around £150million in the summer.
Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were bought for Mourinho under Woodward.