Elon Musk reportedly contemplating buying Man United — for real this time

Elon Musk is reportedly contemplating buying Manchester United – for real this time.

The Twitter and Tesla CEO, 51, who is worth an estimated US$157 billion (S$209 billion), last year joked about buying it, but is now said to be eyeing a US$5.5 billion buy-out of the Premier League club, according to the Daily Mail.

He has until Friday's (Feb 17) deadline day to make his bid, sources also told the Mail.

SpaceX founder Elon – the second-richest man in the world – sent Twitter into a frenzy in 2022 by announcing plans to buy the football club before he confirmed it was all a joke.

In a series of tweets he said on the platform: "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, you're welcome."

The tweet prompted a wave of speculation but hours later Elon, who last year bought Twitter for US$44 billion, insisted he was joking.

He added: "No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams."

Meanwhile, the billionaire recently claimed he was stricken with "major" side effects from his Covid-19 booster that left him fearing for days he was "dying".

The tech mogul – who has slammed global lockdowns at the height of the pandemic – also claimed his cousin was hospitalised with an inflamed heart after having a vaccine.

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He took to Twitter in January to make the claims in a response to a poll that said 7 per cent of adults from a survey of 260 million vaccinated Americans had claimed they experienced side effects from the jab.

The dad-of-10 said: "I had major side effects from my second booster shot. Felt like I was dying for several days. Hopefully, no permanent damage, but I dunno.

"And my cousin, who is young and in peak health, had a serious case of myocarditis. Had to go to the hospital."

Elon added he only had a second booster as it was a legal requirement to travel to Germany.

He also said he experienced coronavirus before vaccines were available, and compared his symptoms to a mild cold.

Elon added: "Then had Johnson and Johnson vaccine with no bad effects, except my arm hurt briefly.

"First mRNA booster was ok, but the second one crushed me."

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