A COUNCIL leader has hit back at a Premier League star who slagged off his city – claiming Bob Dylan is a big fan.
Chelsea winger Noni Madueke apologised on TV after branding Wolverhampton “s**t” on Instagram as he pondered life in a hotel hours before his team’s 6-2 thrashing of Wanderers.
The 22-year-oldm from Barnet, North London, scored his first professional hat-trick during Sunday’s match, after the online slur.
It triggered a huge debate about what is on offer in the Black Country city and whether Madueke has a point.
Wolves icon Steve Bull even invited the star for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to return for a “rethink”.
And now Wolverhampton Council leader Stephen Simkins has argued Madueke does not know what he’s talking about.
He said music legend Dylan, 83, has done two gigs in the city, meaning it must be doing something right.
Cllr Simkins told the Express & Star: “This fella obviously knows nothing about the city. I’d love to know where he was staying and what he saw.
“He could not have been in the city centre on Saturday night, the place with the re-opened Civic Halls looks great.
And if Wolverhampton is so bad then why would Bob Dylan, a proper superstar, pick us to play not one, but two gigs here. If it is good enough for Bob Dylan…”
Cllr Simkins went on to say Madueke clearly doesn’t know about Wolverhampton’s “rich industrial history” or that it was the “first place to have traffic lights”.
He described it as the “most diverse city in the region” and said the people are the “best and friendliest around”.
Ex-PSV player Madueke shared an Instagram message showing his location as Wolverhampton on the day of the match and added: “Everything about this place is s***.”
The winger, who has nearly one million followers, quickly realised he had used the wrong social media account.
He went on to break Wolves fans’ hearts on the pitch, with boos ringing out as he netted three goals.
But he was quick to apologise for any offence he may have caused for his pre-match accident.
Speaking after the game, he said: “I want to apologise to anyone I might have been offended. It’s just a human mistake, it’s an accident, it wasn’t meant to be out on my socials like that.
“I’m sure Wolverhampton is a lovely town, I’m sorry. In terms of the boos, I expected it, but it’s part of the game.”
BY DYLAN TERRY
CHELSEA forward Noni Madueke mistakenly shared an X-rated message about Wolves ahead of the Blues’ Premier League clash on Sunday.
Enzo Maresca’s men are searching for their first victory of the season after losing 2-0 to champions Manchester City at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
Madueke, 22, did not start the loss to Man City or the win over Servette in midweek, but did come off the bench to score in their Europa Conference League play-off.
Yet he did not seem pleased after arriving in Wolverhampton on Saturday.
The ex-PSV man shared an Instagram message showing his location as Wolverhampton and added: “Everything about this place is s***.”
Madueke, who has nearly one million followers, quickly realised he had used the wrong social media account.
And he responded: “Damn wrong Instagram account. You lot are too fast.”
Unbelievably, the star went on to net a hat-trick for Chelsea in a 6-2 thrashing of Wolves, celebrating in front of a hostile Molineux crowd.
Although he was quick to apologise for any offence he may have caused for his pre-match accident.
Speaking after the game, he said: “I want to apologise to anyone I might have offended. It’s just a human mistake, it’s an accident, it wasn’t meant to be out on my socials like that.
“I’m sure Wolverhampton is a lovely town, I’m sorry. In terms of the boos, I expected it, but it’s part of the game.”
Wolves legend Bull, 59, told The Sun he reckons his adopted home town is misjudged.
It does enjoy a fine pop pedigree in its defence.
Rockers Slade hail from there, while Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant is a regular at Wolves games.
Bull added: “Beverley Knight comes from Wolverhampton as does Suzy Perry. One Direction’s Liam Payne grew up here — but he’s a West Brom fan!
“We’ve all got good and bad parts to where we live but it’s a great city, most of all, there’s a great football club.”
Referring to Madueke’s comments, he said: “The Chelsea player was silly to say what he did about Wolverhampton. He maybe needs to have a rethink.
“If he knew the place and the people, then he wouldn’t have said a word about it. I’d say to anyone who read that remark, pay us a visit, then see what you think.”
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