There hasn't been a lot of good news for Manchester United so far this summer.

While hope seemed renewed following some encouraging pre-season performances, it has evaporated alarmingly quickly after their Premier League campaign lurched clumsily into action.

A loss to Brighton on the opening day followed up by a bona-fide drubbing at the hands of an inspired Brentford sees United propping up the table after just two weeks of the season.

Erik ten Hag doesn't seem to have been given the backing he wanted to build the squad he desires and the mountain that the Dutch manager now needs to climb seems almost insurmountable.

Throw in the controversy surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo, and you're left with a regular witch's brew of problems that no new manager would want to have on his hands.

The fans, who are ready to lynch the owners at the first opportunity, are rapidly falling out of love with the club as well.

Fortunately though, there may be some joy on the very distant horizon after Britain's richest man and lifelong United fan Sir Jim Ratcliffe declared his interest in buying the club.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: INEOS Founder and Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe (L) reacts during a press conference regarding INEOS and Mercedes future partnership at The Royal Automobile Club on February 10, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

With rumours circulating that the much-maligned Glazer mafia are considering selling their stake in the club, there may be a fresh new dawn around the corner.

So, in the age of the mega-money owner, where would Sir Jim rank among his contemporaries were he ever to get the purchase of United over the line?

Well, we can answer that exact question below as we rank the Premier League's richest owners based on their net-worth.

The richest owners in the Premier League

The data below comes courtesy of talkSPORT, The Mirror and The Sun.

  • 20. Brentford – Matthew Benham (£3m)
  • 19. Leeds – Andrea Radrizzani (£344m)
  • 18. Nottingham Forest – Evangelos Marinakis (£505m)
  • 17. Brighton – Tony Bloom (£765m)
  • 16. Bournemouth – Maxim Denim (£900m)
  • 15. West Ham – David Sullivan and David Gold (£1.62bn)

LONDON - JANUARY 19: David Sullivan (L) and David Gold pose for a photo as they are announced as new joint chairmen of West Ham United during a photocall at Upton Park on January 19, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

  • 14. Everton – Farhad Moshiri (£1.9bn)
  • 13. Liverpool – John Henry (£2.14bn)
  • 12. Southampton – Gao Jisheng (£2.3bn)
  • 11. Leicester – Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (£2.9bn)
  • 10 Crystal Palace – Joshua Harris (£3.36bn)
Liverpool's principal owner John Henry
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 25: Liverpool owner John W. Henry is seen during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield on October 25, 2015 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 25: Liverpool owner John W. Henry is seen during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield on October 25, 2015 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

  • 9. Manchester United – The Glazers (£3.5bn)
  • 8. Tottenham – Joe Lewis (£3.6bn)
  • 7. Wolves – Guo Guangchang (£4.5bn)
  • 6. Aston Villa – Nassef Sawiris (£5.3bn)
  • 5. Fulham – Shahid Khan (£5.8bn)

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 11: Avram Glazer (L) and Joel Glazer, the Co-Chairmen of Manchester United look on during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Burnley at Old Trafford on February 11, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

  • 4. Arsenal – Stan Kroenke (£6.35bn)
  • 3. Chelsea – Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital (£10.86bn)
  • (Manchester United - Sir Jim Ratcliffe £12.5 billion)
  • 2. Man City – Sheikh Mansour (£22.9bn)
  • 1. Newcastle – Saudi Public Investment Fund (£320bn)

So there you have. Thanks to his impressive net-worth, Sir Jim would take up the final spot on the podium when it comes to the battle to be the richest owner in the English top flight.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that any sale that may or may not happen is still some way off but for United fans it is the first morsel of good news they've had in quite some time.

The Old Trafford faithful deserve a better United than this, and maybe, just maybe, Ratcliffe can be the man to deliver it.