Eagle-eyed fans spot hidden Sheffield United reference in Sean Bean film National Treasure

The Sheffield icon and film icon is still a regular visitor to the city and Bramall Lane to watch his beloved Blades in action.

Bean, who played Ned Stark in the HBO hit, was on the club’s board for five years and even has two Sheffield United tattoos.

He has been a huge Blades fan since he was eight-years-old and opened the club’s Hall of Fame in 2001.

The Handsworth actor has appeared in a number of films durng his career including Lord of the Rings, The Martian, Silent Hill and, of course, When Saturday Comes.

But, Sean Bean fans have now noticed a hidden Sheffield United reference during 2004 film National Treasure.

The film follows Nicolas Cage searching for a lost treasure hidden during the American Revolutionary War with a coded map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

Bean plays Ian Howe, an entrepenuer and rival treasure hunter, in one of the few films where he doesn’t die.

Eagle-eyed film buffs have noticed that, during the film, the actor makes a clever reference to Sheffield United.

In one scene, the camera focuses on a yellow notepad filled with doodles around the side.

One of these doodles in the top right hand corner is two crossing blades with a small dot in the middle.

The doodle is almost certainly a homage to Sheffield United’s famous club crest; two blades crossing below the White Rose of Yorkshire.