Elon Musk has said that he is buying Manchester United.
The tech billionaire earlier tweeted:
“Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”
Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022
This prompted some furore from fans slightly naïve to Musk’s antics, with @teslaownersSV asking for clarification:
“Are you serious?”
Are you serious?
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) August 17, 2022
Which elicited the following response:
“No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams.
“And I’m not buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in, despite the extreme popularity of such a move.”
And I’m not buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in, despite the extreme popularity of such a move
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022
He is also not buying twitter if he has is way, despite agreeing a deal to do so.
While his ‘joke’ may come at a bad time for Manchester United fans, there were some reasons for laughter, as people speculated on the effect Musk’s ownership could have on the team:
Lisandro Martinez defending the back post after Elon custom makes him a jet-pack pic.twitter.com/bOJnOX5dEA https://t.co/MdPYRjYW83
— 10k (@mukhtar10k) August 17, 2022
Despite the billionaire distancing himself from a purchase, Talksport has suggested that there is serious interest from other parties for Manchester United.
Jon Smith, a football agent interviewed by the The Transfer Social podcast, gave United fans hope that a sale could be completed (via utdreport):
“Football agent Jon Smith: “#mufc, I believe, will be sold within the next 24 months.
“There are people circling.””
Football agent Jon Smith: “#mufc, I believe, will be sold within the next 24 months. There are people circling.” #mulive [@talkSPORT]
— utdreport (@utdreport) August 16, 2022
While two years may seem like a painfully long time for continued suffering under the Glazer ownership, it is a far better timescale than United fans have had previously.
For 17 years the club has been run from Tampa and since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, fortunes at Old Trafford have been grim.
Michael Knighton, a former director of the club, announced his intentions to initiate a hostile takeover – even if only to “smoke out” other potential bidders.
It seems, according to Jon Smith, he is seeing some success in that regard.
