Elon Musk has had to downplay talk of an impending Manchester United takeover bid, hours after starting the rumours himself.
The richest man in the world, as per Forbes’ annual rich-list, who has an estimated net worth of over $270 billion, offered a brief moment of hope to Red Devils fans when tweeted to his 103,000,000 that he was intending to buy the club.
A dismal start to the season under Erik ten Hag has seen renewed anger and protests from supporters towards long-term owners the Glazer family, who have overseen a steady decline under their stewardship since acquiring the club in 2005 and riddling the club with bad management and heavy debts, leaving them unable to compete with the elite clubs.
Representatives from the Manchester United Supporters Trust earlier this week said that they will “demand answers” from those in charge at Old Trafford, with a failure to act swiftly in the transfer market over a sustained period of time emblematic of the decision-making at the club.
Musk, the co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX, sparked a brief social media frenzy on August 17 when he tweeted about his intentions to buy Manchester United.
However just as fans were starting to put together their Football Manager-inspired wishlists and plotting transfer targets, Musk admitted that it was in face a ‘joke’, and he had no intention of buying out the Glazer family and putting the club back on the map.
Had Musk seriously invested in the club, it would have made him the richest sports club owner in the world according to Forbes, easily surpassing Steve Ballmer, owner of the LA Clippers.
| Owner | Team | Net Worth | Source of Wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Ballmer | LA Clippers | $91.4 billion | Microsoft |
| Mukesh Ambani | Mumbai Indians | $90.7 billion | Diversified |
| François Pinault | Stade Rennais FC | $40.4 billion | Luxury goods |
| Dietrich Mateschitz | New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Racing, RB Leipzig | $27.4 billion | Red Bull |
| Daniel Gilbert | Cleveland Cavaliers | $22 billion | Quicken Loans/Rocket Companies |
| Masayoshi Son | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | $21.3 billion | Internet, telecoms |
| Steve Cohen | New York Mets | $17.4 billion | Hedge funds |
| David Tepper | Carolina Panthers | $16.7 billion | Hedge funds |
| Robert Pera | Memphis Grizzlies | $14.6 billion | Wireless networking gear |
| Philip Anschutz | Los Angeles Kings, LA Galaxy | $10.9 billion | Investments |
