The super-wealthy fans of Aston Villa, Manchester United & Southampton - could they buy the clubs?

Elon Musk teased Manchester United fans on Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday morning by briefly implying that he had agreed to take over as owner of the football club.

Despite eventually revealing that he was joking, Musk, the founder of Tesla and one of the world’s richest men, did officially confirm that if he was to purchase any sports team, it would be Manchester United after it was revealed that he is a supporter of the club.

As the Red Devils are currently struggling to find form in the Premier League, many fans may be wishing that the Forbes-listed world’s wealthiest billionaire in 2022 swoops in to save them.

With this in mind, we have revealed the favourite football clubs of some of the world’s wealthiest people (via betting.com).

Could one of these super-rich fans purchase your football club in the future?

1. Prince William - Aston Villa

Estimated Net Worth: £30 million

It’s no secret that the future King of England is a huge football fan and his favoured team is the the Villa.

While it remains extremely unlikely for the Birmingham-based club to receive royal investment, Villa certainly benefit from the global interest generated by being affiliated with the popular Prince. William told BBC Sport that he chose to support the West Midlands club because he didn’t want to “follow the run of the mill teams”.

2. Bill Gates - F.C. Barcelona

Estimated Net Worth: £106 billion

Back in 2011, Bill Gates was spotted wearing a Barcelona replica shirt as he issued the statement, “no other sporting institution in the world [than FC Barcelona] shows the same passion for resolving social problems.”

At the time, the Barcelona first-team players’ shirts were branded with the message ‘End Polio’ - a cause that the Microsoft founder was keen to rally behind.

Surprisingly, in 2017, Gates came close to buying a different football club altogether - Liverpool FC. However, the computer whizz passed up the opportunity to purchase the Merseyside club.

3. Rishi Sunak - Southampton

Estimated Net Worth: £3.1 billion

Currently in the running to become the UK’s next Prime Minister, the Conservative politician officially entered the Sunday Times UK Rich List earlier this year.

However, just in case things don’t work out for Mr Sunak in politics, there’s always the option of investing in a football club - and who better than his boyhood club, Southampton F.C.?

In fact, earlier this August, the former Chancellor admitted that “if I could run Southampton football club, I’d be a very happy man.”

4. Steven Bartlett - Plymouth Argyle

Estimated Net Worth: £300 million

The youngest ever panellist on BBC’s Dragons’ Den is certainly into his football, as fans who saw him play in Soccer Aid 2022 will know.

The 29-year-old entrepreneur hails from Plymouth - is it possible that fans of Plymouth Argyle could see the Dragons’ Den star select his hometown club as his next investment?

Currently playing in League One, Plymouth is the largest city in England to have never hosted top-flight football - perhaps Bartlett’s business know-how could change all that?

5. Elon Musk - Manchester United

Estimated Net Worth: £225 billion

Amidst cries for new ownership of the Premier League club, Tesla owner and part-time Twitter user, Elon Musk temporarily teased fans into believing that he was set to become the new proprietor of Manchester United F.C.

After revealing that his intentions to purchase the club were a hoax, Musk did confirm that he was a Manchester United fan and admitted that if he was to purchase a sports team that it would be the Red Devils.

Is there still a chance of Musk coming to Manchester in the future?

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