Nesbitt is a fan of football teams Coleraine F.C., Rangers F.C and, most passionately, Manchester United F.C.. He also supports the Northern Irish national football team. In 2003, he made a donation of "thousands of pounds" to Coleraine after the team came close to bankruptcy. He has called the team "a heartbeat" of Coleraine and encouraged more people to watch Irish League football. Nesbitt was a vocal opponent of Malcolm Glazer's 2005 takeover of Manchester United; however, after the completion of the deal, he acted in television advertisements promoting executive boxes at Old Trafford and was criticised by fans. To counter the criticism, he pledged half of his £10,000 fee to the Manchester United Supporters' Trust and the other half to UNICEF.