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In a bid to take full ownership of Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly willing to sell French club OGC Nice amid interest from Saudi Arabia. Ratcliffe acquired Nice in 2019 through his chemical company INEOS for around £89 million (€100m) before acquiring a minority stake in United in February 2024.
After Ratcliffe completed the acquisition of Nice, stakeholders expected the club’s performance to improve, as they competed with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for domestic dominance.
However, the reverse has been the case, as they haven’t qualified for Europe’s premier football club competition, the Champions League, since the purchase. The club’s best finish in a league season has been fifth (on three occasions) since it was acquired by the INEOS CEO.
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According to French outlet L’Informé, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) are interested in the securities of Nice. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to listen to offers for the club that currently sit in the sixth position on the Ligue 1 table. The report adds that any proceeds generated from the sale of Nice would be used to fund a complete takeover of Manchester United.
The news of a potential sale follows Ratcliffe's comments last March, in which he expressed dissatisfaction about watching Nice play, saying their level of football did not excite him.
He told The Times (via L’Informé):
"I don’t particularly like going to see Nice because there are good players, but the level of football isn’t high enough for me to get excited. Nice’s best season was the one we weren’t allowed to get involved in due to timeshare rules. They were so much better without our interference! Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned from that."
At the moment, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a 28.94% stake in Manchester United. He paid £79.43 million ($100m) last December in addition to the £1.25 billion ($1.6bn) he had paid to buy an initial 25% stake.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ruthless cost-cutting measures at Manchester United continue, as two senior figures lose their positions in the latest axing
Two senior figures at Manchester United are reportedly expected to leave the club as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s second round of redundancies. Since Ratcliffe became United’s minority owner, redundancies have been rampant.
In July 2024, more than 250 staff members were released in the first wave of cost-cutting measures, and recent reports have claimed that approximately 200 jobs may be cut soon.
According to The Athletic, director of football insights and innovations, Richard Hawkins, and director of football operations, David Harrison, have been told that they will no longer continue in their roles. Discussions regarding their exits are underway.
The report added that the staff at risk of losing their jobs have been holding meetings with HR since Monday (April 28) to find out their fate. Hawkins was appointed as a human performance manager before he assumed his current role in March 2023. Harrison was hired by former United football director John Murtough when Hawkins assumed his current role.
