Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning a bid for Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) after the US-based Glazer family formally put the club on the market. Ratcliffe, one of Britain's richest men and a United fan, had been the first billionaire to declare interest in buying the club in the summer, when rumours of a potential sale first surfaced. The owner of Ineos, the petrochemicals giant, is now expected to table a fresh approach although he is wary about overpaying as insiders suggest majority owners brothers Joel and Avran Glazer are looking for a price comfortably in excess of £5 billion.

Telegraph Sport understands that Ratcliffe's failed bid to buy Chelsea over the summer was late because he had been waiting for the price to drop.