Elon Musk is once again causing a stir on Twitter by revealing his intention to purchase popular football club Manchester United.
The eccentric chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX made the surprise news late Tuesday night via Twitter.
He said:
Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022
The 51-year-old billionaire is presently engaged in a heated legal dispute with Twitter for abruptly abandoning the $44 billion purchase.
Elon Musk has countersued Twitter, intensifying his legal fight against the social media behemoth over his attempt to withdraw from the multibillion-dollar deal.
Elon Musk Unfazed By Twitter Legal War
The wealthiest person in the world announced last month that he was ditching the acquisition and blaming Twitter for breaching the agreement by exaggerating the amount of phony accounts on its site.
Elon Musk has a habit of sending out irreverent tweets, and it was unclear whether he intended to seriously pursue a buyout contract, and this time with Manchester United.
Manchester United, owned by the American Glazer family (Joel and Avie Glazer as co-chairmen), who also own the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did not react quickly to a request for comment.
In recent years, Manchester United, one of the largest sports teams in the world, has gone through a difficult time. Since 2013, the Premier League club has not won any championship cup, and their fans have frequently revolted against the club’s owners.
Image: Gossips24
Manchester United began the season with a 2-1 defeat to Brighton earlier this month, and then were blanked by Brentford last weekend in a 4 to nothing beating.
The team features world-class players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire, and Marcus Rashford.
In 2005, the Glazers purchased Manchester United for 790 million pounds ($955.5 million). Forbes estimates that the club is valued approximately $4.6 billion. Man United’s market value was $2.08 billion as of Tuesday’s close.
What The Billionaire Says, Social Media Listens
Tesla has sold 75% of its Bitcoin, which had a value of almost $2 billion by the end of 2021.
The company stated that it purchased conventional cash using $936 million in Bitcoin sales.
In the past year, Elon Musk has caused the prices of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE), to fluctuate significantly.
He has been one of the most prominent advocates of cryptocurrencies, with his social media posts frequently driving major trading activity.
Meanwhile, responses to Elon Musk’s buyout announcement spread like wildfire on social media:
United players finally going to be dangerous in Space. https://t.co/sMPMNuYn8A
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) August 17, 2022
Big if true https://t.co/CYyYgaBm21
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 17, 2022
Plastic owner for a plastic club https://t.co/ys8WDFexJQ
— Barstool Football (@StoolFootball) August 17, 2022
Now, whether Musk will actually buy Man United – or if this is just a spur of the moment thing for the tycoon – is anybody’s guess.
BTC total market cap at $384 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com Featured image from New Straits Times, chart from TradingView.com