‘Very frustrating’ – Man Utd fans urged to display Sir Jim Ratcliffe caution amid troublesome Nice spell
Nice owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured at home game vs PSG
Manchester United supporters have been told why they should head into the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era with caution, as his time in control of Ligue 1 side Nice has not been hugely successful, as per one French football journalist.
Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and British billionaire Ratcliffe have been battling to buy Man Utd ever since current owners the Glazer family announced in November 2022 that they would consider offers for the club. Sheikh Jassim recently increased his proposal to a whopping £5billion, but after this was rejected by the Glazers he walked away from the discussions.
That development saw Ratcliffe move into prime position to purchase a stake in the Red Devils. Unlike Sheikh Jassim, though, Ratcliffe knew he would struggle to complete a total takeover from the Glazers, which is why he is instead on the verge of landing a 25 per cent stake in Man Utd.
Ratcliffe is expected to pay a huge £1.3bn to join Man Utd’s ownership, and he wants to take control of their football operations as he has not been impressed by the people the Glazers have put in charge of that area of the club. Ratcliffe, who owns multinational chemicals company INEOS, also hopes to extend Old Trafford to a capacity of 90,000 people.
Ratcliffe and INEOS have owned Nice since July 2019. And while the team are currently sat second in the French top flight with the only unbeaten record in the division, insider Jonathan Johnson has sent the Man Utd faithful a warning.
“We’re seeing Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS move closer to purchasing a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United, but as much as fans of the Red Devils might not want to read this, their ownership of Nice hasn’t been a huge success,” he said in an interview with CaughtOffside.
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“We have to recognise that when INEOS came in they had a very ambitious project to challenge PSG at the top of Ligue 1 and they haven’t done that. They haven’t really made any kind of progress domestically or in Europe, so it’s been a very frustrating period for the club’s fans.
“Ratcliffe’s continual flirtation with clubs in England has also been a source of frustration to the Nice fan-base, as it’s not just Manchester United he’s shown an interest in, but also Chelsea and Liverpool in the past.
“Had it just been Man United, given his childhood support of the club, then I think fans might have been a bit more understanding, but given that there’s clearly been a long-running interest in buying a Premier League club, I think the Nice fans have tired of it.”
Nice have ‘wasted potential’ under Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Johnson continued: “More recently, Nice have made some encouraging changes – they’re the only team unbeaten in Ligue 1 and they’re going very well under highly-rated new manager Francesco Farioli.
“They’ve got a couple of real gems in their ranks as well, but overall you can’t paint a picture of Ratcliffe’s reign and make it look like a success. It’s been largely a tale of frustration and wasted potential.”
As Ratcliffe has publicly claimed himself to be a Man Utd fan, he might push everyone at INEOS even harder to make the club a big success. However, what is clear is that Erik ten Hag’s side will not immediately be challenging the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal for Premier League glory.
