Sir Jim Ratcliffe insists he would rather walk away from Man United bid than pay 'stupid price'

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has insisted he will not pay a "stupid" price for Manchester United as he aims to win the race to buy the Reds off the Glazer family.

The Ineos owner visited Old Trafford and United's Carrington training complex on Friday. The 70-year-old - along with other investors - met with Reds manager Erik ten Hag prior to the FA Cup quarter-final victory over Fulham, albeit very briefly.

His main competition for the club appears to be Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank. His bid team met with the United hierarchy the day before Ratcliffe's visit to Manchester.

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While the initial offers made by interested parties are thought to have fallen short of the Glazers' valuation, Ratcliffe - speaking to the Wall Street Journal - said he would not be paying a "stupid" figure that he would regret in the future.

"How do you decide the price of a painting? How do you decide the price of a house? It’s not related to how much it cost to build or how much it cost to paint," Ratcliffe said. "What you don’t want to do is pay stupid prices for things because then you regret it subsequently."

Ratcliffe - a lifelong United supporter - claimed his motivation for wanting to purchase the Reds comes from a desire for success on the pitch with the club.

He added: "Our interest in that club would be purely in winning things."

The British businessman also stated he regarded United as a "community asset" rather than a financial one - suggesting that his pursuit of the Reds was different when compared to other business investments.

"That in a sense goes without saying because sport is emotional," Ratcliffe said.