Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been running football clubs for over five years now.
It all started in the Swiss city of Lausanne, situated on the picturesque Lake Geneva, which the International Olympic Committee calls home, just as Ratcliffe's chemicals company INEOS also did for some seven years. November 2017 marked the British businessman's first move into football by buying the city's for-sale side FC Lausanne-Sport.
Within two years, another club, OGC Nice, was added to the INEOS Sport stable, which already included a cycling franchise and sailing team. The football expansion could continue even further, having since also acquired Ivory Coast-based Racing Club Abidjan, in the coming months should a proposed takeover of Manchester United by the boyhood supporter come to fruition.
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As the sale saga continues, a glance at Ratcliffe's tenure on the French Riviera offers a potential insight into how United may fare if INEOS are successful. And it’s not been plain sailing - another sport Ratcliffe has invested in - since the 2019 takeover.
Despite stating ambitions to challenge Paris Saint-Germain for the French title, Nice have yet to come close to that. Two fifth-place finishes are their best performances to date and this season's side are unlikely to break new ground, sitting in seventh, 10 points adrift of even Europa League qualification.
The summer's recruitment drive of signing Ross Barkley and Kasper Schmeichel in cut-price deals from the Premier League as well as Aaron Ramsey on a free transfer from Juventus caught the eye. But perhaps for past glories rather than present ability. More than €80 million has been spent signing several players this season, including France under-21 international Sofiane Diop from Monaco. The club are also obliged to splash €20+ million to turn Terem Moffi's loan move permanent this summer.
But rather than the new arrivals, it’s a change of coach that is seeing a sense of optimism return around Nice.
Caretaker manager Didier Digard is unbeaten in 13 matches across all competitions after Ratcliffe dispensed his predecessor Lucien Favre after being knocked out of the French cup by third-tier minnows Le Puy. The former Middlesbrough midfielder has guided them into the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League and a chance of progressing further in what is a pretty open field.
Nice play a high-intensity game, built on counter-pressing with bold starting positions and the objective to recover the ball quickly.
Ramsey, for one, has spoken highly of Digard and Ratcliffe. "The owner is very passionate and very invested in Nice and wants to take Nice all the way up to the top," the Wales international said. "It's a great project to be a part of. It just feels like a family-orientated club.
"I'm really enjoying my football at the moment, we had a change after the World Cup with the management, and they've hit the ground running and settled in really well. The players have responded well to their instructions. We're unbeaten since I've returned. It's been really enjoyable."
The Failsworth native's ownership has been described as hands off, with Ratcliffe taking two months before attending a game. There remains a mixed view from the fan base. While the financial backing is positive, it has yet to translate itself onto the pitch. The potential takeover of United raises plenty of questions - from becoming a 'feeder club' to being unable to play in Europe. Two INEOS-owned clubs cannot compete in the same European competition as the regulations stand.
United supporters will hope Ratcliffe has learnt from his Nice tenure should he be handed the keys to Old Trafford. The aims in Manchester are also of competing with PSG and the rest of Europe's giants, but for the Champions League, rather than the Coupe de France.
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