LONDON - One of Britain’s wealthiest people, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has confirmed he is in the running to buy Manchester United Football Club. The billionaire head of the chemicals company Ineos confirmed via his firm that they had “formally put ourselves into the process” to take over from United’s current owners, the Glazer family.

The news came just a day after the UK’s charity regulator announced it was reviewing The Jim Ratcliffe Foundation over a £15m donation he made “to build a luxury clubhouse at a ski resort used by the billionaire”, said The Times.

The paper added that the foundation “has received £7.4m in Gift Aid from the British tax authorities” since it was set up to fund a new ski clubhouse in Courchevel in the French Alps, and to support other charitable endeavours.