Ipoh Community Forums

WASHINGTON – Elon Musk tweeted yesterday evening that he is purchasing the Manchester United football club, although it was not clear if the eccentric billionaire, currently embroiled in a lawsuit over his bid to buy Twitter, was being serious.

The 51-year-old Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who has a habit of posting provocative statements on social media for fun, said: “Also, I’m buying Manchester United, you’re welcome,” in a reply to an earlier tweet about supporting both of America’s two major political parties.

Manchester United, a storied English football club, is currently led by the six children of late American businessman Malcolm Glazer, who took a controlling stake in the franchise in 2005.

Shares of the team listed on the New York Stock Exchange are down year to date, but ended yesterday flat, with a market capitalization of US$2.1 billion (RM9.4 billion).

The Glazer family also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFL franchise in Florida.

There was no immediate reaction from the club or its owners to Musk’s tweet.

Manchester United fans have protested the team’s management for poor performance in recent years, as well as their involvement in a plan to start a new “Super League” of Europe’s richest teams.

- More -

What do you all think would happen if he really did go through with it?

Musk saying he's buying Manchester United is definitely a bold move. The club's had its ups and downs, and fans have strong feelings about how it’s run. It kind of reminds me of my own experience with a local sports team. A few years back, I joined a community soccer league, and we went through a rough patch with management.

One day, our team captain decided to take charge and turned things around. Inspired by stories of big names like Elon Musk, we started pushing ourselves more and ended up winning our league!