Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly slashed the asking price for French club OGC Nice from as he seeks to complete a sale after nearly seven years of Ineos ownership.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reduced the asking price for Nice(Image: (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images))
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has dramatically reduced the asking price for French club OGC Nice as he attempts to offload his stake in the team, it is claimed. According to Bloomberg, Ineos had initially been seeking more than €200m (£173m) to complete a full sale of the club in the coming weeks and months.
Ratcliffe put Nice on the market last year, but potential investors were reportedly unwilling to meet the asking price for the Ligue 1 side. This has since prompted the valuation to “come down significantly” to help facilitate a sale.
The primary obstacle facing the British billionaire and advisory firm Lazard Inc, who were brought in to help secure a deal, centres around uncertainty surrounding the television rights deal in France. DAZN had initially acquired the rights but, following the collapse of that agreement, Ligue 1 have been managing and distributing their own broadcast deal among clubs.
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Any agreement for an investor to purchase the Ineos stake in Nice would bring an end to nearly seven years of the company’s ownership of the French club, which has produced mixed results. Currently, Les Aiglons sit 14th in the league with just a six-point cushion above the relegation zone.
Those struggles have been exemplified in Europe, as they are yet to register a single point in the Europa League, with criticism mounting over the club’s management in recent years. This comes at a time when United face their own challenges and turbulence under the part-ownership of Ineos and Ratcliffe.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has slashed the price of Nice amid a potential sale of the French club(Image: (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images))
There have been glimmers of progress following last season’s disappointing 15th-place finish in the Premier League, but turmoil has erupted in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s dismissal. The Portuguese coach was the first permanent appointment under the new ownership and sporting structure, a move by Ratcliffe’s group to overhaul the club’s behind-the-scenes operations.
This evidently created friction for Amorim, who made it clear that he saw himself as a manager rather than a head coach at the club, despite the new setup including a director of football, Jason Wilcox. “I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear,” he declared in early January when questioned about his rapport with the board.
“I know that my name is not Tuchel, is not Conte, is not Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United. It’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decided to change. That was my point. I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until other guy is coming here to replace me.
“I just want to say that I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach. I was really clear on that. That is going to finish in 18 months, and then everyone is going to move on.
“That was the deal. That is my job, not to be a coach. If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticises of everything, we need to change the club.
“No, no guys, I would say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach. Every department, the scouting department, the sport director needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on. Thank you, guys.”
His departure, coupled with Michael Carrick’s appointment as interim boss, highlighted the pressure on Ineos to make the correct choice for the next permanent manager to steer United back on track, whilst questions have been raised about the circumstances surrounding the outgoing head coach.
That shift in approach must align with a coherent playing philosophy established by the sporting department, alongside targeted recruitment of players who fit specific tactical requirements.
Whether the club can achieve that unified vision across its leadership structure is yet to be determined.