![The football manager, who went onto take charge at the Stadium of Light later in his career, was a Sunderland fan growing up. He recently stated: "I was growing up as a kid, don’t know where it came from probably because Charlie Hurley played for them, I was a big Sunderland fanatic. So I went to Sunderland as a manager based on this romantic notion of where Sunderland were based, the crowds that they got at the old stadium, which was Roker Park. They’d not moved to the Stadium of Light when I was up there [as a fan]. This idea that ‘do you want Sunderland to be all the things when you were supporting them’ that they never were."](https://www.sunderlandecho.com/webimg/b25lY21zOmE4YzVkOWVhLWQ2ODAtNGQ5Ni05YjU1LTc2ZTk3NjhhMzg3NTo5ODIyMzI5OC1mMDQzLTQzYWMtODdkMS0xNjdlZWEwZDNjMjM=.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=990&quality=65&enable=upscale)
![The football manager, who went onto take charge at the Stadium of Light later in his career, was a Sunderland fan growing up. He recently stated: "I was growing up as a kid, don’t know where it came from probably because Charlie Hurley played for them, I was a big Sunderland fanatic. So I went to Sunderland as a manager based on this romantic notion of where Sunderland were based, the crowds that they got at the old stadium, which was Roker Park. They’d not moved to the Stadium of Light when I was up there [as a fan]. This idea that ‘do you want Sunderland to be all the things when you were supporting them’ that they never were."](/img/placeholder.png)
From sports stars to TV personalities and musicians to local heroes, the Black Cats have a number of famous fans – including some surprising and international names.
Over the years, we have seen many celebrities come out and publicly announce their support of the Wearside club.
Here, we take a look at the famous faces who support Sunderland:
1. Charlotte Crosby
Despite finding fame in Tyneside based show 'Geordie Shore', Charlotte Crosby appears to be a Sunderland fan judging from her historic Twitter posts... which are somewhat unflattering towards a certain Alan Shearer!Photo: John Phillips
2. Jordan Pickford
Like Jordan Henderson, Jordan Pickford is a Sunderland fan having grown up in the area and come through the club's academy before moving on.Photo: Naomi Baker
3. Keira Ramshaw
Keira Ramshaw is Sunderland through and through. The former Black Cats star and captain has just retired from football but remains involved with Mel Reay's set-up at the Academy of Light.Photo: Naomi Baker
4. Lee Howey
Seaham-born Lee Howey made 69 league appearances for Sunderland between 1993 and 1997 and remains well-thought-of amongst Sunderland... his brother, not so much!Photo: UnderTheCosh YouTube