Just hours after Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Tuesday he was buying football club Manchester United, he denied it on Twitter.

The richest man in the world wrote that it was just a joke, and he is not buying any sports teams or Coca-Cola.

"No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I'm not buying any sports teams."

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

Manchester United, controlled by the American Glazer family, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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

Manchester United fans have in recent years protested against the Glazers, who bought the club for 790 million pounds ($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.

Last week, Musk sold $6.9 billion worth of shares in Tesla, saying the funds could be used to finance a potential Twitter deal if he loses a legal battle with the social media platform.

Bot and spam accounts on Twitter have become a central issue in the legal fight over whether Musk must complete his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company.

(With input from agencies)