FEATURE | Should OGC Nice’s INEOS owners be entrusted with control of Manchester United’s sporting operations?
INEOS owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks set to secure a 25% minority stake in Manchester United and secure control of the Premier League side’s sporting operations in the process, as reported by The Times. Whilst INEOS’ management of OGC Nice has rightly come in for criticism, an overdue realignment of the club’s project in recent months offers room for optimism.
INEOS weren’t lacking in ambition when they arrived at the Riviera club in 2019. Prior to the club’s acquisition, Nice had finished in the top four three times in the previous six seasons. The arrival of significant investment alluded at least to a continuation of that relative success.
However, Nice’s new ownership harboured loftier objectives. “Our aim is to be in the Champions League in 3 to 5 years. We want to challenge PSG,” said INEOS upon completing the purchase of the club.
Those objectives have never been realised; some would even argue that Nice have since gone backwards. Last season was a particularly low point. After achieving European football under Christophe Galtier the previous season, Lucien Favre returned to the club. The Swiss manager is remembered fondly at the Allianz Riviera, but his appointment was a considerable missed step. Granted, a haphazard transfer window put Favre on the back foot, but he never looked like bettering or even replicating the form shown by Les Aiglons in the previous season.
He didn’t last long. A humbling defeat to Le Puy in the Coupe de France proved the final straw. Didier Digard came in, and upon the unveiling of the interim manager, new sporting director Florent Ghisolfi sought to allay expectations, stating that there was “no pressure for results.” The season was essentially written off before the halfway mark.
But
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