Manchester United fans know their false dawns. Wednesday shed a different light on strife at the giant football club: Elon Musk said he was buying it - and then said it was all a joke. Musk, the world's richest person, said early on Wednesday that he hadn't been serious when he tweeted hours previously that he was going to buy Manchester United, now languishing at the foot of the English Premier League as fed-up fans urge current owners, the American Glazer family to sell up. "No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams," Musk posted when asked by a user if he was serious about buying the club when he had posted, "I'm buying Manchester United ur (sic) welcome."