Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned against the prospect of Manchester United battling to land blockbuster signings such as Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.

The Ineos chairman, 71, is taking control of footballing operations at United following his recent minority purchase and wants to turn the club back into the force they once were.

However, he believes breaking the bank on marquee additions is not the way to do it.

Appearing on Geraint Thomas' Cycling Club podcast, Sir Jim was asked whether he would try to sign England star Bellingham.

He said: "He is a great footballer. It's not where our focus is, the solution isn't spending a lot of money on a couple of great players.

"They have done that, if you look at the last 10 years, they have spent a lot of money on a couple of great players.

"The first thing we need to do is get the right people in the right boxes who are managing and organising the club.

"And make sure we get recruitment right, it is such a vital part of football today."

The billionaire was also given a choice of signing Mbappe for United or cyclist Tadej Pogacar for his Ineos team.

He replied: "I would rather sign the next Mbappe rather than spend a fortune buying success.

"It's not that clever buying Mbappe. Anyone could figure that one out. More challenging is to find the next Mbappe, next Bellingham or next Roy Keane."

Ratcliffe is working with long-term right-hand man Dave Brailsford at United, with Omar Berrada incoming as chief executive.

He added: "The two people who are most focused on it would be Dave and myself, in terms of how we resolve it all.

"We've now got Omar, our new CEO from Manchester City, who is still on gardening leave at the moment. He'll be a big part of it.

"It's not a light switch, it's a much longer road to travel because there's so many aspects to it."