Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has put his French side OGC Nice up for sale, talkSPORT understands.
Ratcliffe, who has implemented a series of brutal cost-cutting measures since arriving at Old Trafford, values the Ligue 1 side in excess of £200million.
Nice are one of a number of sports teams the Monaco-based British billionaire is involved in, having purchased the side in 2019.
He then bought a 25 per cent stake in United in February 2024, taking over control of footballing matters at his boyhood club.
Tensions have been strained with Nice ever since, particularly when dismissive comments he made about them in March lit up the fanbase.
“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 said.
Manager Franck Haise was forced to respond, saying: “The article that the comments appeared in was a lot more complete than that. But he hasn’t seen a Nice match this season.
“It’s not that serious. We can be annoyed, that’s obvious. But is it really worth staying annoyed for a long time?”
Ratcliffe’s company INEOS reportedly paid £88million for a controlling 17 per cent stake in Nice in 2019.
That made them his second side after Swiss Super League team Lausanne-Sport, while he and INEOS are also involved in cycling, sailing and Formula 1.
Yet his Nice ownership has certainly caused the most frustration, particularly over conflicts of interest since moving in at Old Trafford.
In July 2024 United were informed by UEFA they would be allowed to compete in the Europa League at the same time as Nice, ending a long-running saga.
Yet a month earlier, United were blocked from signing Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo by UEFA, a decision Ratcliffe said was ‘unfair’.
More to follow…
