Elon Musk says he was joking about buying Manchester United

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, tweeted on Wednesday that he was joking when he said that he was going to buy English soccer club Manchester United.

“No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams,” Musk said, when asked by a user if he was serious about buying the club.

Earlier today in the morning, Musk had tweeted: “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome,” without offering any details. Some Manchester United fans, disgruntled by their club's declining fortunes of late, had previously urged Musk on Twitter to consider buying the club.

The tweet turnaround comes as Musk seeks to exit a $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter only four months after announcing on the platform he would buy the social media company, which has taken him to court.