LONDON: The race to take control of Manchester United intensified Saturday as British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe formally challenged a Qatari banker for the ownership of the English football giants.

Ratcliffe had already expressed interest in United several weeks ago and his INEOS company followed the Qatari offer by officially submitting their own bid.

But the contest for control of the record 20-times English champions may be more than a two-horse race.

On Saturday, The Times reported that American hedge fund giant Elliott had made a bid — but not a full takeover of the kind proposed by both Ratcliffe and Qatari rival Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

United is currently owned by the US-based Glazer family — with the cost of purchasing one of the world’s most iconic sports teams expected to reach around $6 billion.

The 70-year-old Ratcliffe is keen to expand a sporting portfolio that already includes French football club Nice and Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport, as well as the cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky. “We can confirm that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have submitted a bid for majority ownership of Manchester United Football Club,” Ineos said in a statement to AFP.

Ratcliffe, born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, is one of Britain’s wealthiest people, with an estimated net worth of £12.5 billion ($15 billion) following the success of INEOS, his global chemical company. The boyhood United fan vowed to restore the Old Trafford side as the “number one club in the world again” after 10 years without a Premier League title triumph. The group also pledged to be “the long-term custodians of Manchester United on behalf of the fans and the wider community”.

“We want a Manchester United anchored in its proud history and roots in the North-West of England, putting the Manchester back into Manchester United and clearly focusing on winning the Champions League.”