One of Britain's richest men confirms he wants to buy Manchester United

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the richest men in the UK, wants to buy a stake in Manchester United.

A spokesperson for the Ineos billionaire told The Times: "If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer."

The 69-year-old would also be open to taking full control of the club if the Glazers would welcome an investment.

"If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-term ownership," the spokesperson added.

"This is not about the money that has been spent or not spent.

"Jim is looking at what can be done now and, knowing how important the club is to the city, it feels like the time is right for a reset."

United's lack of form on the pitch is there for all to see as they currently sit bottom of the Premier League after just two games.

Many reds have taken an issue with the Glazer family's ownership, ever since they took over in 2005.

Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, the club has steadily declined on the pitch, while many question the lack of investment off it.

Despite spending over £1 billion on players, the owners have been criticised for spending it all 'with the club's money', and have been called out for not recruiting the right people to purchase the right players.

Fans are also unhappy with the way they bought the club in the form of loans, the majority of which were secured against the club's assets.

From one of the richest men in Britain to the richest man in the world, it seems that billionaire Elon Musk has joked about purchasing United.

The 51-year-old made the comment when he was discussing his political leanings on Twitter, writing: "To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!"

While adding: "Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome."

As many will be aware of, Musk is no stranger to stirring things up on social media and later confirmed that he was only joking.

One user asked him: "Are you serious?"

To which the Tesla CEO replied: "No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams."

However, he did follow up with: "Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid."