Only a liquor baron can boast about selling 120 million cases of alcohol, and reminisce about launching a whiskey brand as a "young boy". These were some of the tidbits from the statement that Vijay Mallya put out on Thursday evening, announcing his resignation as non-executive chairman of alcoholic beverages company United Spirits. This, after he struck a deal with the parent firm Diageo, which agreed to drop all charges of alleged irregularities under his watch, and reportedly agreed pay him $75 million over five years in return for him leaving the company.

Mallya will now become the "Founder Emeritus" of the company. It is an honorary title that has no authority, responsibilities, rights or benefits.

His resignation had social media abuzz, with his retirement plans in particular coming in for ridicule. Mallya started off his letter by saying: "Having recently turned 60, I have decided to spend more time in England, closer to my children." He discussed how his new deal had cemented his legacy and said his new role would as Chief Mentor of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Indian Premier League team that he has owned since 2008.

His plans had both sports fans and corporate watchers interested. Here's a selection: