I wanted to buy Manchester United but now I've got a $20bn offer to make to Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Former Manchester United takeover bidder Thomas Zilliacus says he would “love” to talk with Sir Jim Ratcliffe about giving supporters a more immersive experience at Old Trafford - and help raise serious money for the club.

The Finnish businessman, who withdrew from last year’s takeover race having not heard back from the Glazers, has formally submitted a 100% buy-out bid worth around £1.2billion for Inter Milan as he pivots towards the Italian market. He is being backed by his investment firm - comprised of different business chiefs to the ones involved in the bid for United - with most investors situated in the US.

Zilliacus is not currently looking at Premier League investment as a result of his pursuit of Inter but says he would be open to discussing his fan platform model with Ratcliffe, having initially proposed the idea within his own former bid.

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READ MORE: Next steps as Premier League ratify Sir Jim Ratcliffe investment

Ratcliffe has finally had his £1.3billion minority investment bid ratified by the Premier League and takes over sporting control of the club. Meanwhile, the Glazers will operate the commercial departments, which is where Zilliacus’ proposal would fall into.

After submitting his bid through consortium XXI Century Capital last year, the 67-year-old told the Manchester Evening News that his team was drafting up an app which would hand more control to fans in exchange for a fee. He indicated that through this mechanism, supporters would be able to have a say on general matters such as transfer philosophy and dividends, but not more specific topics such as managerial sackings.

The former high-ranking Nokia