It might sound too bizarre to be true, or maybe it’s completely plausible in the current world of football mayhem, but Elon Musk says he’s going to buy Manchester United.
We’re not kidding – the world’s richest man wants to buy one of the world’s most famous football clubs.
In what is news that no one really saw coming, the South African-born business tycoon with a net worth of US$242 billion, who is the CEO and owner of a handful of major companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and very-nearly but not-quite, Twitter, wants to get his hands on the club that’s arguably in the most disarray in world football currently.
As many sports fans – and at this point, even people who don’t know too much about football – across the globe will know, the red half of Manchester is going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment, and that’s putting it lightly.
There is a great deal of anger across the board from fans, former players, and prominent TV pundits – including Gary Neville, who this week said the club is a “graveyard” and likened it to a school in “special measures” – being publicly expressed, with the majority of it being directed towards the club’s American owners, The Glazer family.
The Glazers took over the club in 2005, and it’s been a rocky relationship since then.
In the 17 years following the takeover, the club has seen immense success in the Premier League and the Champions League, but has very-prominently been in decline since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013, and there have been multiple protests against the Glazers’ ownership in recent years – including one in May 2021 which caused a match against Liverpool to be postponed, and several over the club’s involvement in the proposed European Super League.
With debt ever-increasing, the team at the bottom of the Premier League table, star player Cristiano Ronaldo potentially exiting before the transfer window closes, and not much news of new signings through the door, it’s been a painful start to the 2022/23 season for United and new manager Erik ten Hag.
And on top of that, the team lost 4-0 to Brentford away this past weekend.
So, what could possibly fix this situation? Who could be the saviour of the club that fans are so adamant needs saving? Step forward, Elon Musk.
In a stream of consciousness on Twitter that’s come to be pretty typical of the billionaire enigma, after bizarrely explaining that he “supports the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party”, Musk just thought he’d throw it out there that he’s “buying Manchester United” – and it understandably sent a lot of fans into pandemonium.
The tweet went on to amass well over 600,000 likes and retweets, with thousands of confused fans questioning whether or not it’s actually true and if he fancies committing to that promise.
It turns out, he didn’t really mean it.
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When asked “are you serious?” by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV), Musk responded that it was part of a “long-running joke”.
He explained: “No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams,” before following up with: “Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.”
Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.
A tribute festival in memory of Mani from The Stone have been announced
Danny Jones
After plenty of talk and rumours ever since his passing, a tribute festival in memory of Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield will honour the late great Stone Roses and Primal Scream bass player later this year.
Despite various organisations and regional residents having observed their own memorial services following his death on 20 November 2025, the city and Greater Manchester as a whole made it clear that they wanted to carry out a more dedicated form of remembrance.
And we couldn’t agree more.
Deciding to remember him in the past best way possible – by celebrating one of his greatest loves and legacies: music – ‘Manichester’ festival will be held this spring.
Hosted in partnership with Madchester.com and simply dubbed as “a tribute to a true Manc legend”, names both new, old and current will be joining the inaugural Manichester lineup.
Organised by the website and iconic Manchester streetwear brand GIOGOI, not to mention being “blessed by Mani’s family” directly, artists playing will range from those who were lucky enough to have played with him or, like us all, were simply left inspired by his unforgettable basslines.
As well as a ‘AAA headliner’ still yet to be confirmed, there are some serious legendary names on here, both local and beyond; at the minute, the roster of acts is looking like this:
Manichester 2026 lineup
Cast
Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order)
The Kowloons
A “specially assembled core band” featuring Aziz Ibrahim (The Stone Roses), Rowetta, Simone Butler (formerly Primal Scream) and Mick Rossi (Slaughter and The Dogs)
Dave McCabe (The Zutons)
Baz Fratelli (The Fratellis)
Zak Starkey (Mantra of the Cosmos)
Steve White (ex-Oasis drummer)
Jon McClure (Reverend and the Makers)
However, as they have teased in the announcement, “that’s just the start”, and with more names incoming, many are already trying to guess who the headliner could be. Some have even suggested Ian Brown himself might get up on the stage…
As per an official statement, key artwork for the event comes from the one and only and equally influential Stone Roses guitarist, John Squire, whose new designs will feature on flyers, limited-edition physical tickets and other promotional materials.
Manichester will take place on Saturday May 30, doors open 2pm.
Most importantly, all the proceeds from the special one-off in memoriam show will go towards Mani’s and Imelda’s twin boys, Gene and George – and who knows? This could be the start of a brand-new annual festival spawned in the name of a very special Mancunian.
GIOGOI added: “Manchester is the best city in the world, and we do things differently here. This is Manchester showing up. This is Madchester showing love. This is ‘Manichester’.“
Taking place on Saturday, 30 May and held at Diecast on Ducie Street in Manchester city centre from 2pm, it’s sure to be a momentous ocassions with thoughts of Mani and his family looming large in everyone’s minds.
The Premier League is keeping its crucial cap on away game ticket prices – for now
Danny Jones
The Premier League has announced it is extending its crucial price cap for away games, as the general cost of match tickets continues to creep up all over the country.
Most season card holders, be they here in Greater Manchester or elsewhere, are likely looking at their annual spending going up simply, so steps like these are key in keeping first division football as affordable as possible.
And that’s just the ongoing cost of living, let alone the clubs that are continuing the trend of charging more each year and, unfortunately, even pricing some supporters out entirely.
With that in mind, the news of England’s top-flight sides voting unanimously to keep the £30 cap intact for at least another two years comes as relief to those who spend most of the year putting their hard-earned cash towards following their team home and away.
BREAKING: The Premier League extend £30 cap on away tickets for another two seasons 🚨 pic.twitter.com/L336aZwmn3
Now confirmed to remain in place until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, travelling fans obviously still spend plenty of money on transport and so on every year, but at least they don’t have to worry about rising general admissions.
At least not for the time being…
Writing in a statement, the Premier League said: “Away fans help create the incredible atmosphere Premier League matches are renowned for. Since the cap’s implementation in 2016, it has contributed to attendance at away games increasing from 82% to 91%.”
They also acknowledged the significant and regular funds that supporters still spend on these trips, with plenty of people online also praising the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which helped spearhead the campaign over a decade ago.
With so many other obstacles still getting in the way of fans making it to games either at their usual stadium or on an away day – not least of all the constant and increasingly frustrating rescheduling of fixtures – it’s good to see this isn’t an area the Prem are trying to target.
As always, the multi-billion-pound business can always seek out other, newer money spinners, and we’re absolutley certain they will. For instance, there’s at least one happening over in Spain that we’d happily see carried over here.
Following the news, this now means that fans will ultimately have enjoyed 12 back-to-back seasons of the benefit, and long may it continue.
Nevertheless, the biggest barrier for people to watch the beautiful game at its highest level in the UK remains the cost of standard tickets.
The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds and more have already let matchgoers know that their season ticket prices will be going up, and the likes of Man City have already seen backlash for increasing rates amid the expansion of the Etihad Campus.
Emily Sergeant -
17th August 2022 
