Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Musk says tweet about buying Manchester United was a joke

By AFP 17 August 2022, 4:01 pm 0 Edit

Manchester United supporters hold a banner reading 'Glazers Out' on the stands during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Chelsea, at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Thursday, April, 2022. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Elon Musk tweets that “I’m not buying any sports teams,” calling a viral post about him purchasing the Manchester United soccer club a joke.

The world’s richest man has a habit of posting provocative statements on Twitter for fun and Musk was at it again when he told his more than 103 million followers: “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”

The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the comment in reply to another of his tweets, about supporting both of the United States’ two major political parties.

The 51-year-old, who is embroiled in a lawsuit over his bid to buy Twitter, was subsequently asked on the platform if he was serious about owning Manchester United.

“No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams,” Musk replied, after his original tweet garnered nearly 500,000 “likes” in a matter of hours.

“Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.”

Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in world football but suffering a prolonged slump, is owned by the Glazer family. They have been targeted by angry fans.

There was no immediate reaction from United or its owners to Musk’s tweets.