Exclusive Jonathan Johnson column: What Man Utd can expect from Sir Jim, new Real Madrid deal imminent & more
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What Manchester United fans can expect from Sir Jim Ratcliffe
We’re seeing Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS move closer to purchasing a 25% stake in Manchester United, but as much as fans of the Red Devils might not want to read this, their ownership of Nice hasn’t been a huge success.
We have to recognise that when INEOS came in they had a very ambitious project to challenge PSG at the top of Ligue 1 and they haven’t done that. They haven’t really made any kind of progress domestically or in Europe, so it’s been a very frustrating period for the club’s fans.
Ratcliffe’s continual flirtation with clubs in England has also been a source of frustration to the Nice fan-base, as it’s not just Manchester United he’s shown an interest in, but also Chelsea and Liverpool in the past. Had it just been Man United, given his childhood support of the club, then I think fans might have been a bit more understanding, but given that there’s clearly been a long-running interest in buying a Premier League club, I think the Nice fans have tired of it.
More recently, Nice have made some encouraging changes – they’re the only team unbeaten in Ligue 1 and they’re going very well under highly-rated new manager Francesco Farioli. They’ve got a couple of real gems in their ranks as well, but overall you can’t paint a picture of Ratcliffe’s reign and make it look like a success. It’s been largely a tale of frustration and wasted potential.
It looks like we could see Paul Mitchell brought in as sporting director at United if the INEOS deal goes through, and it’s no surprise to see
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