Musk's tweet about buying Manchester United no joke for fed-up fans

FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as he visits the construction site of Tesla's gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/

(Reuters) - Elon Musk, the world's richest person, briefly lifted the gloom over Manchester United's shares and fans on Wednesday by tweeting he was buying the English soccer club - only to say a little later it was all part of "a long-running joke".

One of the world's most successful soccer clubs, the "Red Devils" are languishing at the bottom of England's Premier League and, having seen eight coaches come and go in less than 10 years, some fans and investors are wondering whether it's time for the club's owners, the American Glazer family, to sell.