Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; October 10, 2014)

Barely five hours after Salman Khan clarified that he did not have a stake in the Pune franchise of the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL), Hrithik Roshan was signed on as the co-owner of the team.

Salman made his stand clear on social media with a series of posts, one of which read: “I do not own any ISL team. My friends Dheeraj & Kapil Wadhawan had asked me to be their partner in FC Pune City. But due to my endorsement contracts with Suzuki and Thums Up which conflict with the League sponsors, I can’t associate with FCPuneCity (sic).”

With Salman out of the picture, sources suggested that Shah Rukh Khan, a crazy football fan and owner of the Kolkata team in IPL, was interested to invest in the Pune franchise. Shah Rukh’s spokesperson, however, quashed the rumours.

Soon after, it was announced that Hrithik would jointly own the team. “It is definitely the next big sporting brand in our country and will give young football talent a solid platform. I hope my partnership with FC Pune City adds further strength to the team,” he said.