Jim Ratcliffe: Daredevil billionaire with Man United in his sights

Lifelong Manchester United fan Jim Ratcliffe says he does not "take risks unnecessarily" and the hard-headed businessman appears to have judged buying the club falls outside that category.

The 70-year-old self-made English billionaire's idea of what is an unnecessary risk may differ to that of most other people.

For he has skied to the North and South Poles, sailed through the Northwest Passage and climbed the Matterhorn.

"I don't take risks unnecessarily," he told Saturday's edition of The Times on the day his INEOS company officially submitted a bid for majority ownership of United.

"To give you an example, I won't and would never jump out of an aeroplane, because you either live or die depending upon how well someone's packed your parachute.

"I'm quite careful, but you're only here once so you get more out of life if you challenge yourself a bit more."

Ratcliffe has an estimated net worth of £12.5 billion ($15 billion) having along with two long-standing partners - "all northern grammar school boys" - built INEOS into a formidable global petrochemical firm.

His fortune was estimated in 2018 at £21 billion - a far cry from when the company was in serious trouble as a result of the global financial crisis in 2008.

He is not a newcomer to the football world as he owns French Ligue 1 side Nice -- which he bought for a reported €110 million ($118 million) - and Swiss outfit FC Lausanne-Sport.

He has been unhappy with the manner in which Manchester United has been run under the deeply unpopular Glazer family.

Ratcliffe - born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester - was blunt in an interview with The Times in 2019 when outlining the reasons why he would not have bought United outright at that time, even if it was up for sale.

"(INEOS)