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Watch Sunderland fans pay tribute to George Michael by singing 'Last Christmas'

Published Dec. 26, 2016 3:32 p.m. ET

Caitlin Murray

Sunderland supporters sure know how to tug on on the ol’ heart strings, even during an away soccer match.

As the Black Cats took on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday, Sunderland fans in the stands belted out a version of George Michael’s hit song, “Last Christmas.” It was a gesture that paid tribute to two people: Michael, who unexpectedly died the day before, along with a 5-year-old Sunderland fan with terminal cancer.

Watch the tribute below:

https://twitter.com/NBCSports/status/813437853547958273

The song a bit difficult to make out, with everything else going on and the fact that the supporters changed both the lyrics and tempo. But around 2:08 in the video you can hear the supporters’ clapped-up take on the melody.

It appears the song was not just for Michael, whose untimely death came on Christmas, the very day people around the globe were listening to his song “Last Christmas." The supporters changed the lyrics for Bradley Lowery, a 5-year-old cancer patient who is also a Sunderland fan. The young fan has been raising money to get treatment for his terminal disease, with clubs around the Premier League taking up his cause, including a large donation recently from Everton.

Michael, the British pop singer, reportedly died of heart failure on Sunday. He was 53. As both a solo artist and with his band Wham, he had 10 different No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts and he sold more than 115 million records globally, according to Sony Music.

The double-tribute for the pop singer and the young fan was a classy, touching gesture from Sunderland’s supporters.

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