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Football

17th Aug 2022

‘Comedian’ Elon Musk confirms he’s not really buying Manchester United

Jack Peat

He’s getting a reputation for backing out of big deals 

Elon Musk has confirmed he has no intention of buying Manchester United – saying an earlier tweet was part of a ‘long-running joke.’

The Tesla CEO, who recently backed out of a 44 billion dollar (£36.3 billion) deal to buy Twitter, announced his intentions to buy the club early on Wednesday morning.

Tweeting to his 103 million followers, he said: “To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!

He added: “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”

But he backtracked on the remarks several hours later.

Responding to Tesla owners asking if he was serious, Musk tweeted in reply: “No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams.”

In another tease to fans, he added: “Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.”

United have been owned by the Florida-based Glazer family since 2005, but disquiet among fans has been growing in recent months.

According to recent reports, United fans are considering boycotting Old Trafford for the game against Liverpool as they ramp up their protests.

A demonstration against the owners resulted in an Old Trafford megastore being closed prior to their Premier League opener.

Footage posted on Twitter by anti-Glazer fan account The 1958 shows a number of fans bearing a banner emblazoned with ‘Fight for United’ as fans call for the unpopular owners to sell the club.

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