Avenged Sevenfold can count Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea as one of their biggest fans.
The Spanish stopper, who is a big metalhead, attended the Californian group’s concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night.
Following the gig, De Gea met the band backstage and presented them with a United shirt before posing for pictures.
“Genius on and off #TheStage,” he wrote Instagram.
The photo caused some confusion on social media after some users mistook new drummer Brooks Wackerman (on the far left) for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Avenged Sevenfold hailed De Gea as “one of the worlds greatest goalkeepers [sic]” on Twitter and vocalist M. Shadows returned the favour by contributing to Manchester United’s pre-match playlist for their recent game against Hull.
It was a pleasure to meet one of the worlds greatest goalkeepers tonight in Manchester. Great guy, HAIL TO THE KING. ? #thestageworldtour pic.twitter.com/v5uQlCI3S1
— Avenged Sevenfold (@TheOfficialA7X) January 17, 2017
.@D_DeGea, you'll like this one – M. Shadows of @TheOfficialA7X has chosen five tunes for tonight's #OTplaylist, courtesy of @Deezer! pic.twitter.com/MXDjFNIph0
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 10, 2017
De Gea has made no secret of his love of heavy metal, taking any chance he can to attend concerts when his favourite bands come into town.
In 2015, he shared a picture from Slipknot’s Manchester tour date, along with the comment: “Amazing concert!!!”
However, De Gea doesn’t seem to have had much success instilling enthusiasm for the genre in the Old Trafford dressing room.
Last year, in an interview on United’s website he said: “I like metal and rock bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica.
“When I put it on in the dressing room, everyone moans. Most of the other players are into hip-hop.”
In October, Avenged Sevenfold released a new album ‘The Stage’. The group are currently midway through their UK tour with two dates lined-up in London this weekend.