The name of Elon Musk thrown into hat of potential buyers for Manchester United. Image: NST.

Elon Musk’s name has been thrown into the hat of potential buyers for Manchester United. Image: NST.

Fans beg Elon Musk to buy Manchester United

South African-born businessman Elon Musk has been identified as one of several potential buyers for Manchester United.

The name of Elon Musk thrown into hat of potential buyers for Manchester United. Image: NST.

Elon Musk’s name has been thrown into the hat of potential buyers for Manchester United. Image: NST.

South African-born businessman Elon Musk has been identified as one of several potential bidders for Manchester United, after the Glazers confirmed their intention to sell the English club.

The Glazers bought Manchester United in 2005, but have been widely unpopular with the club’s supporters throughout their 17-year ownership. This is mainly because of the Manchester United have been hamstrung by the Glazer family’s ownership model, which has seen an estimated sum of up to £1.6bn taken out of the club. 

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On Tuesday night, rumours were rife that an announcement on the future ownership of Manchester United was imminent and much to the delight of the club’s staunch supporters, an official statement was released. The gist of it was that the Glazers are open to offers for a full or partial sale, or strategic partnerships with third parties.

FANS CHEEKILY URGE MUSK TO BUY MANCHESTER UNITED

The news undoubtedly put a host potential buyers on red alert, but according to the Daily Mail, the Glazers will set the prize of the iconic football club at a minimum of £5bn (R102bn).

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Most of the leading United Kingdom media outlets have identified English billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe as well as the Dubai state’s sovereign wealth fund as the leading contenders to add Manchester United to their portfolios.

Billionaire Elon Musk.
Billionaire Elon Musk. Image: Twitter.

But reports out of USA suggests the Glazers are most likely to sell the club to an American business consortium and that came as good news to some of Manchester United’s supporters, who have set their hopes on one particular American billionaire to take ownership of their beloved club.

A faction within the Manchester United fandom has made an impassioned plea to billionaire Mask, who is the richest person in the world at the moment with an estimated fortune of $171bn. Musk bought social media network Twitter for $44billion (about R800 billion) on 27 October.

It was Twitter users who jokingly begged Musk to put in a bid to buy Manchester. Read the tweets below:

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