Musk tweet joking about buying Manchester United causes stir

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk brought on a stir by tweeting that he was shopping for the English soccer workforce Manchester United — whose present homeowners are opposed by many followers — then saying a number of hours later that it was a joke.

It comes as the billionaire Tesla CEO faces a legal battle in the U.S. after backing out of a deal to purchase Twitter for $44 billion. He’s a prolific person of the platform, usually musing about social points or joking together with his 103 million followers and sometimes stepping into bother with the U.S. regulators.

Early Wednesday, Musk despatched a tweet about his political affiliations after which added in a second tweet: “Additionally, I’m shopping for Manchester United ur welcome.”

That got here as stunning information within the Manchester United world — albeit welcome to many — after almost a decade of sub-par performances.

Requested by a follower whether or not he was severe, Musk later tweeted, “No, it is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not shopping for any sports activities groups.”

Musk beforehand ran afoul of the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee for tweets claiming that he had the funding to take Tesla private in 2018, main the electrical car maker’s inventory value to leap. That led to a securities fraud settlement requiring that his tweets be accredited by a Tesla legal professional earlier than being revealed.

He’s now going through extra authorized woes over the deal to buy Twitter, which he negotiated in April. Musk bought roughly $8.5 billion value of Tesla shares to assist fund the acquisition and lined up a various group of different buyers to again him.

The deal fell apart last month after Musk mentioned Twitter refused to offer him sufficient details about the variety of faux accounts on the platform. Twitter may have tried to make him pay a $1 billion breakup payment that he agreed to however as an alternative is suing to drive him to finish the acquisition. The case is ready to go to trial in Delaware in October.

Musk, together with his seemingly limitless potential to purchase one of the best soccer gamers on this planet, would have been a welcome prospect for a lot of Man United followers who need to see the membership again on the prime of the sport.

Man United was arguably the largest workforce in world soccer under manager Alex Ferguson, profitable 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies. However since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, the workforce has struggled to win trophies.

Final season, United completed 35 factors behind champion Manchester Metropolis — the membership’s native rival — and there have been protests against the Glazer family, the workforce’s American homeowners.

Many supporters within the membership’s large worldwide fanbase have opposed the Glazers since they took management in 2005, partially as a result of they financed the takeover by placing the membership in debt for the primary time in a long time.

The most recent low got here Saturday when United lost 4-0 to Brentford, a small workforce from west London that was promoted to the Premier League in 2021. It was United’s second straight loss to open the season, leaving it in final place within the 20-team Premier League.

The Manchester United Supporters’ Belief fan group, often called MUST, condemned the homeowners following final weekend’s match.

“What now we have witnessed tonight is a humiliation — no, a humiliation — for Manchester United followers. And but in some ways it was not a shock. It feels just like the fruits of a long-term route of journey,” the fan membership mentioned in an announcement. “MUST maintain the homeowners of the Membership primarily chargeable for this new low in our decade of decline.”

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