United fans not amused as Musk jokes he's buying club

LONDON • Manchester United's troubles continued yesterday after Elon Musk teased that he was buying the club before claiming it was part of "a long-running joke", while star striker Cristiano Ronaldo hit out at the "lies" surrounding his future at Old Trafford.

Musk, the world's richest man, has a habit of posting provocative statements on Twitter for fun and he was at it again when he told his over 103 million followers: "To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party! Also, I'm buying Manchester United ur (sic) welcome."

He let 41/2 hours go by before clarifying he was kidding when a Tesla fan club account asked whether Musk was serious.

The Tesla CEO replied: "No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams."

He added: "Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav (sic) team as a kid."

United's shares rose 4.9 per cent to US$13.40 (S$18.50), paring a 17 per cent gain on thin volume at the start of early trading.

United's fans were not impressed by Musk's joke.

The Manchester United Fanatics Club Hungary said: "It's just a tweet from somebody who not always thinking twice before write something (sic)."

The Kolkata fan club added: "It again reinstated the fact that Elon and his tweets are just gimmicks."

Some of United's fans had previously urged Musk on Twitter to consider buying the club, complaining at what they see as under-investment by their American owners, the Glazer family.

According to Bloomberg, the Glazers would consider selling a minority stake in the club, but they are not ready to cede control of United, people familiar with the matter said.

There were fan protests against the Glazers at United's shock 4-0 defeat at Brentford last Saturday, which followed a season-opening 2-1 home loss against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Things don't get any easier with the visit of Liverpool on Monday.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo, who is widely reported to be seeking a move away from United, replied to a fan account on Instagram that referred to a report linking him to Atletico Madrid, saying supporters would "know the truth" in a couple of weeks, adding, "The media is telling lies".

The former Real Madrid player added: "I have a notebook and in the last few months of the 100 news I made, only five were right. Imagine how it is. Stick with that tip."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG