The businessman once again made unexpected statements on social media by tweeting: “And I will buy Manchester United, you are most welcome.”

But then he responded to the reaction of the Tesla Twitter account, saying he was joking and that he “would not buy any gym”:

Interventions in this social network by the world’s richest man usually leave the business world in limbo. Agence France-Presse contacted Tesla managers, the managers of the English club, which are owned by the American Glazer family.

The Guardian newspaper published the news of Musk’s announcement, but she quickly left the note Whether Musk is serious or not.

Manchester United, which has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for 10 years, has a capital of $2.08 billion and its stock, which closed this Tuesday at $12.78 (+0.08%), is down 2.11% in post-close trading.

Despite not having a majority stake in the club, the club is controlled by the six children of American businessman Malcolm Glazer, who died in 2014 after buying United in 2005.

Glazer’s management was the subject of strong protests from the club’s supporters in April of last year, when United’s management attempted a breakaway plan from the European Premier League, which was eventually ignored.

The Red Devils, with five English, three Spanish and three Italian clubs, wanted to create a European competition to rival the Champions League, an initiative that sparked strong political and sporting protests, but also strong reactions from the club’s fans.

Manchester United suffered another heavy defeat 4-0 against Brentford on Saturday. While Manchester City and Arsenal have 6 points in the table, United have zero and appear in the Red Lantern of the competition after two rounds.

Musk, who recently sold nearly $7 billion of shares in his Tesla car group, is in the midst of a legal battle over the failed takeover of social network Twitter.

* With AFP