Billionaire Elon Musk continues to be linked with a takeover of Manchester United.
Fresh reports in the national press have claimed that the Twitter and Tesla owner is 'monitoring' the situation at Old Trafford. Few possess the vast wealth needed to be able to make a play for the Red Devils, whose owners, the Glazer family, are looking to sell up.
The sale of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich to the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital group has put down a marker as to what sort of valuation United and Liverpool, whose American owners are also contemplating selling their club, would have put on them. Chelsea were bought for around £4.25billion and the Daily Mail reports that Musk, who has previously teased United fans over a potential buy-out of their club, could eclipse Boehly and his consortium with a £4.5bn move for the Red Devils.
A deadline of Friday for interested bids is on the horizon and American businessman Musk, who recently completed the high-profile acquisition of Twitter, is reportedly among those keen. He's worth a whopping £157bn, according to Forbes, and has said before that he supported United as a child.
What is certainly clear is that any purchase of United will be another mega-money move for a club and, maybe, take the spotlight away from Chelsea after their high-profile sale. With Musk's deep pockets, he will be able to splash the cash in the transfer window and complete upgrades to the club's Carrington training base and Old Trafford stadium.
There could also be sponsorship tie-ins with his Tesla company, the electric car manufacturer, and Twitter, with United's Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea surely watching the situation with interest given Musk has the financial firepower to make a real splash in the top flight. It has been reported that the Glazers wanted between £6 and £8bn for United, whom they bought back in 2005 in a leveraged deal but have had to revise expectations particularly because of the current economic climate.
What would you make of a takeover of Man United by Musk? Have your say in the comments section...
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