Comments from investors like Elon Musk about a possible Man United takeover are unlikely to have a lasting effect on the club’s share price.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the world’s richest man’s comments with regards to the Red Devils.
Musk tweeted on Wednesday (17 August): “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”
To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 16, 2022
The Tesla owner clarified in a later tweet that this statement was not in fact true and part of a long-running joke about Musk taking over a sports team.
His remarks came after The Independent reported that three parties are interested in buying a major stake in the club from the deeply unpopular Glazer family.
Maguire explained how the stock market originally spiked after Musk’s comments but quickly reverted to normal.
“It’s textbook Musk,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“He likes to tease, torment and tantilise. We did see a 17 per cent increase in United’s share price off the back of his initial comments.
“But the comments came out after the markets had closed. By the time they opened again the following morning, the price had adjusted back.
“The fact is that even with the potential interest from Jim Ratcliffe, and the comments there were quite coy, we are not seeing any upside in the share price in any of this.
“The share price is still below what it was when they launched in 2012. I think that is a testament to their management more than anything else.”