Sir Jim Ratcliffe has brought up a potential blockbuster team-up with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos as he ponders private finance at Manchester United, according to reports. The Red Devils' co-owner is claimed to have identified the pair of American multi-billionaires as possible partners in search of boosting funds.
Musk - the founder of SpaceX, chief executive of Tesla, Inc. and the owner of X (formerly Twitter), among other projects - boasts an estimated net worth of around £389billion.
Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has an estimated net worth in the region of £196bn, according to the recent Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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Ineos founder Ratcliffe is one of Britain's wealthiest men with an estimated net worth of just under £13bn.
But while the 72-year-old publicly favours a state-of-the-art, new 100,000-capacity stadium, questions remain about where funding will come from.
A newly built stadium would cost upwards of £2bn while redeveloping Old Trafford will likely demand around half of that total.
The Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force, helmed by Lord Sebastian Coe, has held their final meeting and submitted their findings and recommendations.
A decision on the iconic stadium's future is set to arrive by next summer when there will likely also be answers to funding plans.
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According to The Athletic, United have internally discussed further ticket price rises and the sale of stadium naming rights as a means to boost the project's budget.
The M16 giants are said to have also held multiple rounds of discussions with Bank of America earlier this year, opening the door to a potential loan.
It's claimed that, during one meeting before Ratcliffe completed his £1.3bn investment in February, he laid down Musk and Bezos as potential investors.
The Failsworth-born tycoon believed that either high-profile moneybag could be convinced to get involved in United due to the brand's global appeal.
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However, it's reportedly unclear whether that suggestion gained traction, and it's considered inevitable that supporters will suffer further ticket price rises.
United have assured that fans will be consulted before any significant price hikes, with such a change for season ticket holders explored.
The report adds that Ratcliffe has also sat down with the UK government about using some public money to upgrade the infrastructure around Old Trafford.
He has also simplified his ability to invest more from his own pockets by transferring his 28.94 per cent stake from Trawlers - a vehicle he created for the initial purchase - to Ineos.
