Manchester United have significantly upgraded their pursuit of Pep Guardiola but they fear they may be too late.

United were reportedly giving full backing to Louis van Gaal, but those reports were partly because it was close to a major Champions League match against Wolfsburg that the club lost.

The process of pursuing Guardiola has been "greatly accelerated" and there is concern he will end up with Manchester City.

City have been working on signing Guardiola for three years and are extremely confident they will be his next destination when he leaves Bayern Munich.

The opportunity to move the club onto a new level and do something "historic" greatly appeals to Guardiola.

Alex Ferguson may attempt to recruit Guardiola to United.

United won't make a decision on Van Gaal for several months, but the Champions League elimination will be a factor.