Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk 'monitoring' Man Utd takeover

Suraj Radia

• 13 Feb 2023 15:51 GMT
• 2 min read

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is among the candidates allegedly interested in purchasing Manchester United as the deadline for bids fast approaches.

United are understood to have told prospective parties that they must submit a formal offer by February 17th as the club seeks new investment opportunities which could mark the end of the Glazer era at Old Trafford.

Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, is reported by the Daily Mail to be ‘monitoring the situation’ and has hinted in the past that he would be interested in buying the club, calling United his ‘fav team as a kid’.

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Despite losing a significant portion of his wealth in the past year due to his purchase of Twitter and the decline of Tesla’s share price, Forbes still lists Musk as the second-richest person in the world, with his net worth thought to be around £157bn.

While there has been no official comment on Musk’s interest, he joked on Twitter in August last year that he would be buying United as fans were preparing for a protest against the Glazers.

With nearly four times the amount of followers on Twitter as Man Utd, a takeover from Musk could potentially grow the brand of one of the biggest football clubs in the world while also bringing in an elevated level of investment, meaning all eyes will be on Friday’s deadline to see if the SpaceX mogul ends up submitting a bid.

Who are the parties interested in buying Manchester United?

The Mail reports that ‘dozens’ of parties have expressed an interest and signed a confidentiality agreement to access the club’s ‘data room’ for due diligence.

Among the options includes investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, independent from the countries’ investments in Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, as well as British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

EXCLUSIVE: Qatar interest in United 'genuine and credible'

There is also the possibility of an internal takeover, with the MEN reporting that United co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer could buy out their four siblings on the board.

The Glazer family are believed to be looking for £6bn, with some valuing the club at around £4.5bn, although anything north of £3.7bn would see United pass the NFL’s Denver Broncos as the most expensive sports team in the world.