Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to sell Manchester United’s INEOS affiliate OGC Nice, according to French media.
The British billionaire has built a multi-club network through his petrochemical empire at INEOS, acquiring Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland, Nice in France and a minority stake in Man Utd.
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Moreover, this season, Man Utd are not permitted to interact with Nice as both qualified for the Europa League. UEFA essentially forced INEOS to choose between the two, and Ratcliffe obviously decided to stay in charge of his boyhood side from Manchester.
This prevented the two sides from doing business with each other last summer, ultimately ruining Jean-Clair Todibo’s move from Nice to Man Utd. In the wake of this, Ratcliffe reportedly began considering a sale of the French club.
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Ratcliffe to sell Nice
Now, L’Informe reports that the first steps towards INEOS relinquishing control of Nice have already been taken. Ratcliffe, it is claimed, has entrusted asset management company Lazard to carry out a ‘strategic review’ of his stake in the club.
In March, Ratcliffe seemingly confirmed that he had lost interest in his French toy. “I don’t particularly enjoy going to watch Nice because there are some good players, but the level of football is not high enough for me to get excited,” he told The Times.
“The best season that Nice has had is this one, where we’ve not been allowed to get involved because of multi-club ownership rules. They’ve been so much better without our interference! Maybe there’s a lesson there as well, you know.”
The above-mentioned report states that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has expressed an interest in acquiring Nice, although the process of a potential sale is still in its infancy.
The PIF already owns Newcastle United as well as the big four clubs in the Saudi Pro League (Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr). Nice currently sit sixth in the Ligue 1 standings, two points off Lille in third.
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