Ex-Man Utd bidder wants to hold talks with Sir Jim Ratcliffe over 'very significant' offer

A businessman who bid to take over Manchester United wants to hold talks with Sir Jim Ratcliffe over a 'very significant' offer.

Earlier this week the £1.3 billion purchase of a 25 per cent minority share in Man United by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS group was approved by the Football Association.

FA approval was the final hurdle that needed to be cleared after the proposed deal passed the Premier League's ownership tests.

INEOS will control the footballing side of the club, and will have a say over how the Glazer family operates the business side of things.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe reached an agreement with the Glazers after Sheikh Jassim withdrew his offer following a drawn-out bidding process.

Now, Thomas Zilliacus - who 'declined participation' in the third round of takeover bidding back in April after not hearing back from the Glazers - wants to talk with Ratcliffe.

One of the central pillars of the Finnish businessman's proposal was a fan inclusion scheme, that would give supporters a greater say in the running of the Premier League giants.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the 67-year-old revealed that his team were drafting up an app which would hand more control to fans in exchange for a fee.

Under the scheme, fans would have a say on say on matters such as transfer philosophy and dividends, but not things like managerial sackings.

"What I would love to do is to talk with him and his team about the fan monetisation platform that we would have deployed if we would have been able to take over the club," Zilliacus said.

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"It is a platform that can generate very significant revenues for Manchester United.

"And I would be more than happy to discuss the possibility of working together in order to generate those funds. I know we could structure something very exciting for the global fan base that would generate very significant revenues for the club.

Zilliacus claimed that he has tested the model at an unnamed top Italian club, where five per cent of the fan base paid $400 to participate.

"United has around a billion fans, as has been claimed, five per cent of that is 50 million times $400. That's a hell of a lot of money."

If Zilliacus' figures are correct, then his model could earn United $20 billion.

Zilliacus is no longer interested in investing in a Premier League club, and has now formally submitted a 100 per cent buy-out bid worth around £1.2billion for Inter Milan.