The Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) has welcomed Sir Jim Ratcliffe's interest in buying the club - but they want the billionaire to "work in partnership with the fans".
INEOS chief Ratcliffe, who is known as Britain's richest man, confirmed his desire to complete a takeover of the Red Devils on Tuesday. Current custodians the Glazers put the club up for sale in November and Ratcliffe has become the first party to make a move.
Ratcliffe, who has been linked with a takeover for a number of years, is a self-confessed United fan and grew up in Greater Manchester. Despite his local roots, MUST want to properly analyse his proposal and ensure the fans will be involved in the project.
"We do welcome the interest of Sir Jim Ratcliffe," Chris Rumfitt, a member of MUST, told Sky Sports News on Wednesday. "What I would say is that we judge every bid by its merits. We welcome his interest and we want to see the nature of his proposal.
"For any bidder, we want to be sure that there won't be any more debt-laden on the club, we want to be reassured that they have a plan to take United back to the top and we want to be reassured that they plan to work in partnership with the fans.
"We're all realistic enough to know that the Premier League is a global hub and a global game and you can see where the owners come from. We're all realistic enough to know that the new owner could come from anywhere.
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"That said, most fans of most clubs would love somebody local - a local boy made good - coming back to invest in their club."
Ratcliffe revealed his interest in buying United to The Times. A spokesperson said: "We have formally put ourselves into the process."
Ratcliffe, who is a season ticket holder at Stamford Bridge, made a last-minute attempt to complete a takeover of Chelsea last year when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell up. Todd Boehly's consortium won that bidding war.
United fans have campaigned against the Glazers' ownership of the club for many years. It is believed they want more than £5billion from the buying party. According to Forbes, Ratcliffe is worth $15.5bn (£12.5bn) - but the value of INEOS far exceeds that figure.
Ratcliffe's company already own Swiss club Lausanne-Sport and French side Nice. INEOS also have a sailing team in the America's Cup, are co-owners of the Mercedes F1 team and completed a takeover of Team Sky, the successful cycling team, in 2019.
Ratcliffe may only purchase a stake in United after the Glazers said they will "consider all strategic alternatives, including new investments". Ratcliffe called Joel and Avram Glazer the "nicest people" and "proper gentleman" at an event last October.
