Elon Musk says he is buying Manchester United

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday he was buying football club Manchester United Plc.

Musk, the richest person in the world, has a history of making irreverent tweets, and it was not immediately clear whether he planned to pursue a deal.

"I'm buying Manchester United ur welcome," Musk said in a tweet.

Manchester United is one of the world's best supported football clubs. They have been champions of England a record 20 times and have won the European Cup, the most prestigious club competition in the global game, three times.

The team is controlled by the American Glazer family, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The football club had a market capitalization of US$2.08 billion, as of Tuesday's stock market close.

Manchester United fans have in recent years protested against the Glazers, who bought the club for 790 million pounds (US$955.51 million) in 2005, due to the team's struggles on the pitch.

The anti-Glazer movement gained momentum last year after United were involved in a failed attempt to form a breakaway European Super League.

Some fans have urged Musk to buy Manchester United instead of buying Twitter. Musk is trying to exit a US$44 billion agreement to buy the social media company, which has taken him to court.