Elon Musk says he is buying Manchester United
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, on Tuesday tweeted that he was buying football club Manchester United Plc, without offering any details.
Musk has a history of being unconventional and making irreverent tweets, and it was not immediately clear whether he planned to pursue a deal to secure Manchester United.
“I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome,” Musk said in a tweet. The team is controlled by the American Glazer family. Neither the family nor Musk immediately responded to a request for comment.
British newspaper The Daily Mirror reported last year that the Glazers were prepared to sell the club but only if they were offered in excess of 4 billion pounds.(US$4.84 billion)
United’s American owners reportedly wanted to sell between £6bn and £8bn but according to reports a bid up to £4.5bn could be enough to purchase the club.
If Musk decides to make a move at purchasing, he would be facing stiff competition from Saudi Arabian and Qatari investors as well as Britain’s richest man and the chief executive of INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who announced in January that he is attempting to take control of the club he supports.
Musk had posted in August 2022 that he had interest in purchasing Man United but however, later tweeted that it was a joke. He wrote, “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”
He later tweeted, “Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.” It is easy to believe.
Last month, according to the Guinness World Records, Musk broke the world record for largest loss of personal fortune in history, with an approximate drop of £150bn since November.
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That was largely due to the poor performance of Tesla stock. Regardless, with the Glazers looking for around £6bn and some valuing the club at around £4.5bn, the price of United is well within reach for the Twitter owner.
Anything worth of £3.76bn would make United the most expensive sports team in the world.
Elon Musk says he is buying Manchester United