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.
Bernardo Silva has confirmed he is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season
Danny Jones
After a couple of years of will he, won’t he, Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has now revealed he will be leaving at the end of the season.
While most supporters saw it coming from a mile off, it’s still a huge loss for the Blues.
Announcing his imminent departure on social media this Thursday, 16 April, the Man City midfielder will call it a day at the Etihad Stadium after the best part of the decade.
More importantly, he’s lifted virtually everything there is to win at a club level after signing from Monaco at the age of 22, and has been an instrumental part of the squad ever since he arrived.
Manchester City can confirm Bernardo Silva will leave the Club this summer.
Writing a lengthy and emotional post on his Instagram, 31-year-old Silva wrote: Cityzens, When I arrived 9 years ago, I was following a dream of a little boy, wanting to succeed in life, wanting to achieve great things.
“This city and this club gave me much more than that, much more than I ever hoped for. What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will forever be cherished in my heart. ‘The Centurions’, the domestic quadruple, the Treble, the ‘Four In A Row’ and much more… It wasn’t that bad
“In a few months, it’s time to say goodbye to the city where not only [did] we win so much as a football club, but also where I started my marriage and my family. From the bottom of my heart, Ines and Carlota, thank you!
“To the fans, your unconditional support throughout the years is something that I will never forget. My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch. I hope you felt that every single game.
“I arrived as a Man City player, I leave as one more of you, a Man City supporter for life. Keep supporting this young team, and I’m pretty sure they will bring you a lot of new, fantastic memories in the future.
After more than four and a half centuries’ worth of appearances already, and a few more to come before the end of the 2025/26 campaign, he will no doubt go down as one of the all-time greats – and not just for City, but arguably the Premier League in general.
With 76 goals and 77 assists to his name, not to mention 19 trophies while wearing the shirt,
He signed off by adding: “To the club, Pep, the staff and all my teammates these 9 years, thank you for all the memories and for letting me be a part of this journey for so long.
“The atmosphere we created every day in the training ground made me feel at home and a part of a big family. Let’s enjoy together these last weeks and fight for what this season still brings us. Love you all, Bernardo.”
As for Guardiola and co, they have already teased plans to give the Portuguese playmaker a proper send-off and have promised to work with the fans to deliver “a fitting tribute and farewell to a wonderful servant of Manchester City Football Club at the end of the season.”
Aldi’s viral garlic bread-flavoured crisps are now back in stores across the UK
Emily Sergeant
No one tell Peter Kay, but Aldi has brought back one of its most viral crisps… garlic bread.
Admit it, you heard that in the Bolton comedian’s voice when you read garlic bread then, didn’t you? Oh yeah, and they’re also only £1.15 per big sharer bag.
The budget supermarket chain is absolutely no stranger to bringing out some weird and wonderful food concoctions, many of which have seen shoppers flocking to their nearest store – but judging by reaction on social media and their popularity over the years, it sounds like Aldi has properly knocked it out the park with this creation.
By combining two of Brits’ most beloved food obsessions, garlic bread and crisps, Aldi has created the ultimate snacking combination, and they’re now back on shop shelves across the UK after going viral when they were first released back in 2024.
Aldi has just launched new garlic bread-flavoured crisps / Credit: The Manc Group | Rawpixel
If you’re looking to get your hands on a bag, then you can expect the crisps to be ‘packed full of fin-gar-lickin’ good flavour’, according to the retailer.
Shoppers are then hit with the delicious taste of smoky garlic, all while ‘experiencing the hearty crunch’ that’s known to come with Aldi’s premium Specially Selected crinkle cut crisp style.
When the crisps were first released a few years back, a couple members of The Manc team headed to our local Aldi store on Market Street in the city centre to grab a packet of the new crisps – and we can confirm that they are, in fact, garlicky.
Aldi’s calling them the ‘perfect dinner party nibble’ or the ‘ultimate partner to any summer picnic’, and to be honest, we couldn’t agree more.
Emily Sergeant -
17th August 2022 
