Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was once Strobritania’s richest, has decided to sell his French club OGC Nice.
Ratcliffe, who has implemented a series of brutal cost-cutting measures since arriving at Old Trafford, will sell Ligue 1 club Nice if a bid exceeds £200 million.
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New York-based Lazard is handling the sale process and is now publicly searching for interest, after the club has been informally on the market for the past 12 months. INEOS, Ratcliffe’s company, claims it is not leaving Nice for Manchester United and there have already been four early enquiries to buy.
Nice is one of several sports teams the Monaco-based British billionaire is involved in, after he bought the club in 2019.
In February 2024, he bought a 27% stake in Manchester United and took control of the football affair at his childhood club.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a falling star among fans:
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Relations with Nice have been strained since, especially after condescending remarks Ratcliffe made about the club in March, which provoked reactions among supporters.
“I don’t particularly like to watch Nice, because even though they have some good players, the level of football is not high enough for it to engage me,” he said.
Manager Franck Haise was forced to answer:
“The article in which the comments were made was much more nuanced than that. But he hasn’t seen a Nice game this season.
“It’s not that serious. We can get annoyed, that’s clear. But is it worth remaining annoyed for a long time?
Nice became Ratcliffe’s second club after the Swiss Super League club Lausanne-Sport. He and INEOS are also involved in cycling, sailing and Formula 1.
But the ownership of Nice has caused the most frustration, especially due to conflicts of interest after he took over at Manchester United.
In July 2024, United were told by UEFA that they could participate in the Europa League at the same time as Nice, ending a long-running saga. Nevertheless, a month earlier, United were stopped by UEFA from signing Nicess Jean-Clair Todibo – a decision Ratcliffe called “unfair”.
Nice avoided facing United in the Europa League, where United had a disastrous season with zero wins, three draws and eight losses, finishing 35th out of 36 teams in the league phase.
Victory in the final of the Europa League could give them a place in the Champions League Nice were close to qualifying for Europe’s top division, but luckily they ended up one point outside in 4th place in Ligue 1.
The club from the south of France is in a group of six teams, where only four points separate second and seventh place in Ligue 1.
A top 3 finish will secure Champions League football next season – and perhaps further increase Nices’s value.
A sale could also give United a financial boost, after Ratcliffe recently claimed that they risk running out of money by the end of 2025.
These comments came at the same time as a number of controversial cost cuts, where employees across the club were laid off.
