Aaron Ramsey believes Sir Jim Ratcliffe can take Nice "right to the top" of European football after Britain's richest man distanced himself from taking over Manchester United.
Red Devils fans have been excited by the prospect of Ratcliffe, a United fan, purchasing the club and ending the Glazer family's controversial ownership. Ratcliffe expressed an interest in buying United in August but has since played down the speculation.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ramsey, 31, joined Nice from Juventus on a free transfer in the summer after being persuaded by the club's ambition. Ratcliffe's Ineos company completed a takeover of Nice in August 2019 and wants to make them a force in Europe.
Although Nice have endured a difficult start to the season - sitting 13th in the table - they reached the final of the Coupe de France last season and signed the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Ross Barkley and Nicolas Pepe in the summer. Ramsey believes Nice are going places and is excited about Ratcliffe's ambitious project.
"It's very exciting for us to have Jim and Ineos as our owners with their vision, and what they want to achieve here is to take this club right to the top," Ramsey tells Mirror Football . "We're very excited to be a part of that.
"It's these sort of initial stages, really, of getting things in place and things like that - behind the scenes, as well - in order to take this club to the next level. [They're] very ambitious and it's been a pleasure to be a part of it so far."
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Nice finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the Europa Conference League. Despite their slow start to the season, the aim for Ramsey and his teammates is to qualify for the Champions League by achieving a top-three finish in Ligue 1.
Nice are a big club in France, winning four Ligue 1 titles and the Coupe de France three times in their history. Yet they haven't lifted silverware since their cup triumph in 1997, with their most recent league title coming in 1959.
Ramsey adds: "I have no doubt that this club will be competing at the highest level, qualifying for the Champions League and being able to compete for the league against Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, teams like that. It is going to be a matter of time.
"I have spoken to a lot of people here and they are all on board and want to head in the same direction. It is an exciting place to be."
On whether he's spoken directly to Ratcliffe, Ramsey admits: "Yes I have spoken to Jim, and I have been very impressed with his ambition for this club. It is going to be a collective effort. We are very happy to be here and representing Ineos and Nice and hopefully, we can take this club on a journey."
BT Sport is the exclusive broadcaster of France's Ligue 1 Uber Eats this season. Watch Nice v Nantes live on BT Sport 3 on Sunday 23rd October from 4pm. For more info, visit btsport.com
