Manchester United fans have been left hugely unimpressed by a joke tweet from Elon Musk, the world's richest person, saying he was buying the struggling English Premier League giants.
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Musk had seemingly lifted the gloom over United's shares and fans on Wednesday by tweeting that he was purchasing the club - only to say a little later it was all part of "a long-running joke".
United, one of the world's great clubs, are currently languishing at the bottom of the Premier League and, having seen eight coaches come and go in less than 10 years, many fans want the club's owners, the American Glazer family, to sell.
Enter the billionaire CEO of Tesla.
"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 - Elon Musk," the 51-year-old tweeted to his 103 million followers.
Some United fans had previously urged Musk on Twitter to consider buying the club, complaining at what they see as under-investment by the Glazers.
United won the last of their record 20 English league titles back in 2013.
Within six hours, Musk's tweet had attracted more than 500,000 'likes' on the club's main Twitter account - though some users didn't take it too seriously, comparing the post with Musk's troubled run at buying Twitter.
And then came the clarification.
"No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams," Musk posted, when asked if he was serious.
"Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U," he added. "They were my fav (sic) team as a kid."
The Florida-based Glazers, Musk and his lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Manchester United declined to comment.
United fans worldwide were not impressed.
"It's just a tweet from somebody who not always thinking twice before write something (sic)," The Manchester United Fanatics Club Hungary said.
The Kolkata fans club added: "It again reinstated the fact that Elon and his tweets are just gimmicks. Although it would have been great if he really invested 1/10th of what he paid for Twitter to own this legendary club ... the entire fan base is sick and tired of the Glazers."
Even so, Musk's musings ignited trading in the company's US-listed shares ahead of the New York market open.
The tweets are far from the first to land Musk in controversy.
The entrepreneur is currently seeking to exit a $US44 billion ($A64 billion) agreement to buy Twitter only four months after announcing on the platform he would buy the social media company, which has taken him to court.
Musk's tweets about potential acquisitions have also landed him in hot water with US regulators in the past.
In 2018, he tweeted there was "funding secured" for a $US72 billion ($A104 billion) deal to take Tesla private, but did not make an offer.
Musk and Tesla each paid $US20 million ($A29 million) civil fines - and Musk stepped down as Tesla's chairman - to resolve US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims he defrauded investors.
The SEC declined to comment on Musk's latest tweets.
Musk's ambitions range from colonising Mars to creating a new sustainable energy economy - but many observers wonder if making United successful again might prove the toughest task of all.
Australian Associated Press