The Slow Readers Club is currently touring the UK and Ireland.
They will play a sold-out show at Manchester’s O2 Ritz on Thursday and have shows in Glasgow (Friday) and Leeds (Saturday).
Ryan was born in Manchester and grew up in Ancoats, near the city centre, so he had to make the decision whether to be red or blue.
He told BBC Sport: “My dad is a City fan and my mum tells me a story that when I was born she took me to the hospital window to show me where Maine Road was.
“But he never shoved City down my throat and let me decide who to follow.
“My uncle is a big United fan and used to have a season ticket to Old Trafford. He literally rang our house on a Saturday afternoon and told my mum he had an extra season ticket, so does your Jim want to come?”
“I was about six at the time, so I went with him… and that was it, I was hooked for life.
“My favorite players growing up were Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, although my love for Hughes was tarnished a little when he became City manager, especially that game where we beat them 4-3 with a goal from Michael Owen in the last breath, and Hughes was furious next to Fergie. [Sir Alex Ferguson] at the final whistle.
“However, Paul Scholes is my biggest hero at United. Scholes and Diego Maradona are above everyone else as footballers as far as I’m concerned.
“There is no one in the current squad who compares to Scholes. Maybe it’s because I’m a little older, not because we don’t win as much anymore, but there’s no one as nice.
“Bruno Fernandes is a very good player, but he has those moments where he complains a lot. I look at the rest of the team and I think they are all overpaid prima donnas.
“It’s very difficult to like them as individuals in the same way I did our players in the past, whereas I look at City and as much as I dislike them, I love Bernardo Silva.
“He’s what we need. Someone who is just a pure footballer, who isn’t in it for fame or his own ego. He’s like Scholes in the sense that he shows up every week and gives everything he can for the team without complaining or doing all this for him.”
Chris Sutton and James Ryan were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
