Elon Musk says he is buying Manchester United, calls it a ‘long-running joke’

Manchester United fans are furious over the team's recent struggles on pitch and the latest thrashing by Brentford rubbed salt into the wound.

Published on: Aug 17, 2022, 06:32:39 IST

By HT News Desk

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Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk on Wednesday said he was buying English football club Manchester United Plc.

"I'm buying Manchester United ur welcome" Musk, known for his irreverent tweets, posted on the micro-blogging platform.

While it was not immediately clear whether the billionaire investor was serious about pursuing a deal, his tweet took the internet by storm.

The American Glazer family, which controls the club, has been facing the ire of the Manchester United fans due to the team's struggles on the pitch – the Old Trafford-based club is currently at the bottom of the Premier League after a 4-0 thrashing by Brentford in an away game.

In recent years, Manchester United fans have protested against the Glazers, who bought the club for 790 million pounds ($955.51 million) in 2005.

As of Tuesday, Manchester United had a market capitalization of $2.08 billion.

Also Read | Twitter has to give Elon Musk only one bot checker's data, judge rules

Musk's tweet garnered tens of thousands of likes within minutes and triggered hilarious responses from social media users.

“If they keep playing like they have been you'll get a discount,” wrote one user.

Another replied, “United players finally going to be dangerous in Space.”

He later clarified that he was not buying any sports team and his tweet a “long-running joke on Twitter.”

Many pointed to his recent flip-flop over the deal with Twitter. Earlier this year, Musk offered to buy the social media firm but backed out of the deal claiming that the social media platform has a larger number of “spam bots” and fake accounts than Twitter had disclosed.

Twitter has sued Musk claiming that the billionaire is using the concerns about spam and bot accounts as an excuse to get out of the deal.

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HT News Desk
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