Battle of the boybands: The Wanted V 1D

They’ve set their sights on the lucrative U.S. market, so there’s bound to be some rivalry between One Direction and The Wanted.

And Max George from the latter boyband has thrown down to Harry Styles and the boys goading them and sniping at their fans too.

The bands are both across the Atlantic with big chat show appearances booked in and hopes to top the Billboard charts.

Max, 23, told The Sun newspaper: ‘Our song is No4 in the charts. Maybe when they have a song right next to us in the charts over there, they’ll be competition.

‘Whenever you see anything about One Direction their fans get a little bit angry. I guess because they’re quite young.’

The jibe is sure to rile One Direction, which is comprised Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

Despite Max saying there’s no rivalry between the two groups, his words will have One Direction fans foaming at the mouth.

And One Direction are apparently “furious” with George after earlier disparaging comments, with an insider telling Heat magazine: ‘They’re angry about The Wanted slagging them off. They think it’s a low blow and they were shocked that Max would say that.’

A music insider added: ‘It’s not a good idea to start an argument with One Direction. They are working the same circuit at the moment. It’s going to be really awkward when they bump into each other.’

The groups have been enjoying a reasonable degree of attention so far in the States, with Harry Styles and co having to call in the NYPD to help out when eager fans invaded their hotel.

They have been told to stay inside as much as they can and officers from the New York Police Department have been called to their hotel twice to deal with female fans.

One Direction’s new LP Up All Night has topped the US iTunes charts and their appearance on The Today Show drew a crowd of 15,000 screaming girls.

The Wanted will soon be appearing on the Jay Leno Show, so their popularity is sure to skyrocket in the States.