- It came after world’s richest man was urged to ditch his $41bn bid to take over Twitter and rescue the Premier League club instead!
- But there is hope for fans as Musk adds: ‘Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.’
Elon Musk has confirmed he will not be purchasing Manchester United after sending social media into a frenzy Tuesday night.
The world’s richest man sent shockwaves through social media after tweeting ‘he’s buying Manchester United,’ but he has now clarified his surprising comment.
Musk eventually replied, saying: ‘No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams.’
Though in a follow-up tweet, Musk added: ‘Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.’
The 51-year-old was urged to buy the Premier League club by desperate fans earlier this year.
Musk, who is the owner of Tesla and Space X and has a net worth of around $265billion (£200bn), submitted a bid in the region of $41billion (£31bn) to buy Twitter in April but United fans wanted him to splash his cash on their faltering team.
Musk tweeted on Tuesday evening: ‘To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!
‘Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome [sic].’
Musk has a history of making irreverent tweets and his comment appeared to be tongue-in-cheek with the declaration of intent regarding the ownership of United coming out of the blue today.
At the time of writing Musk’s tweet had been retweeted 75,300 times, quote tweeted 39,900 times and was liked more than 425,000 times.
‘Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in,’ he tweeted on April 27, two days after Twitter’s board accepted his unsolicited offer to buy the company.
Musk’s tweets about potential acquisitions have landed him in hot water with US regulators in the past.
In 2018, he tweeted that there was ‘funding secured’ for a $72bn deal to take Tesla private, but did not move ahead with an offer. Musk and Tesla each paid $20m civil fines – and Musk stepped down as Tesla’s chairman – to resolve US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims that Musk defrauded investors.
Musk’s first tweet on Tuesday had given some United fans hope. One supporter said: ‘You have absolutely no idea the sheer amount of hope you just have to a million fans worldwide. Please do buy us though.’
United is one of the world’s best-known and best-supported soccer clubs. They’ve been crowned champions of England a record 20 times and have won three European Cups.
The team is controlled by the American Glazer family, who bought the club for $955.51million, but fans have protested against the ownership in recent years with the team falling from grace and struggling massively on the pitch.
Musk’s tweet sent social media into a frenzy and got some United fans excited about prospect
The anti-Glazer movement gained momentum last year after United were involved in a controversial but failed attempt to form a breakaway European Super League.
The soccer club had a market capitalization of $2.08bn, as of Tuesday’s stock market close.
Some fans encouraged Musk to buy the club, which hit rock bottom last weekend after a 4-0 humiliation at Brentford, instead of buying Twitter.
Broadcaster and United fan Andy Goldstein urged Musk to retract his offer to buy Twitter, and instead buy the Old Trafford side earlier this year.
He said: ‘Elon, Elon. Retract your offer. Buy Manchester united. Spend £2billion on the best players in the world. Win everything. And then boast about it on Twitter.’
Another fan wrote: ‘Please buy Man Utd. All Man Utd fans would love it. Our club is currently being destroyed by the Glazer family. please. #GlazersOut.’
Another added: ‘You’re a top business man who fixes companies. Can you buy @ManUtd? The company needs fixing and you’re the man to do it. Also, free sponsorship for yourself too!!’
One fan even went to the effort of creating United shirts mocked up with Tesla’s logo on the front.
Another was on a similar wavelength, saying: ‘Buy Manchester United, spend a few billion on the best players in the world, put tesla and spacex on the jerseys therefore associating the brand with success and victory and winning every trophy imaginable with club that has already won everything for 150 years.’
United are in total disarray after an abysmal start to the 2022-23 season while billionaire Musk is trying to exit a $44bn agreement to buy the social media company, which has taken him to court.
