Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘raised the prospect’ of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos providing funds before he bought his Manchester United shares.

Ratcliffe agreed to pay £1.2 billion for a 27.7 per cent stake in December last year before the deal was completed at the start of this year.

He has since increased his shareholding in Man United, having paid around £79 million for another 1.24 per cent of the club.

But before the British billionaire purchased his Man United shares, he looked to private finance and ‘raised the prospect’ of Tesla CEO Musk and Amazon CEO Bezos providing funds in one meeting.

That’s according to The Athletic, who claim Ratcliffe felt either man might be tempted by the appeal of Man United, with both having the resources.

Per a recent Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s estimated net worth topped $486 billion while Bezos is estimated as having a $246 billion fortune.

However, it is unclear if those proposals gained any traction.

Despite never being involved in a sports team in any capacity, Musk has been tipped to copy Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and invest in an English football club.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe raised the prospect of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos providing funds before he bought Manchester United shares. Image: Getty

Ratcliffe, meanwhile, has nudged his share up from 27.7 per cent to 28.94 per cent.

His latest injection won’t be used in the upcoming transfer window as Man United endure a difficult campaign.

The Red Devils were condemned to their seventh league defeat of the season at home to Bournemouth last Sunday.

Ruben Amorim’s side languish in 13th place in the table, with just 22 points on the board.

Man United have two more league fixtures this calendar year against Wolves on Boxing Day and Newcastle United on December 30.