'Jim doesn't care' - Man Utd chief Ratcliffe criticised over Nice ownership

Tom Weber

• 18 Dec 2025 03:30 CST
• 4 min read

Nieuws

Man Utd chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has received criticism from the French press for his "incomprehensible" ownership of OGC Nice.

The Ligue 1 outfit find themselves in an almost unprecedented sporting crisis. Nice are on a nine-game run of defeats and are rooted to the bottom of the Europa League standings as the only side yet to pick up a single point.

Domestically, Nice are 13th, with just five points separating them from the relegation playoff spot. At the start of the month, Jeremie Boga and Terem Moffi were attacked by an angry mob of supporters and have vowed never to play for the club again.

More players have since made it clear to club bosses that they are planning to leave in 2026, while head coach Franck Haise, once one of the most sought-after tacticians in French football, has looked a broken man.

The 54-year-old considered resigning from his position, but he opted to stay on board out of defiance following the attack on his players. Amid all of this chaos, owners INEOS are nowhere to be seen.

INEOS eviscerated by French media

Haise condemned INEOS's inaction in an interview given shortly after the fan attack, and it took CEO Jean-Claude Blanc several days to release a statement on the matter.

This is despite the fact that INEOS have been back in full control of the Ligue 1 side since the summer, after being forced to place the club in a blind trust in 2024/25 due to Nice and Man Utd both competing in the Europa League.

However, INEOS don't have any boots on the ground, nor do they apparently have any interest in running Nice.

Earlier this season, Nice director Florian Maurice claimed that he approached Man Utd over potential loan deals in the summer - believed to have been for Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Hojlund - but he was rebuffed and instead offered unproven academy talent.

Reports over the past year have suggested that Ratcliffe is looking to sell Nice, but little progress has been made on that front, essentially leaving the club a rudderless ship.

INEOS's lack of leadership amid the ongoing chaos has now sparked a vicious attack from French outlet ici, which describes the situation at Nice as "incomprehensible."

Author Maxime Bacquie thunders: "At what club aiming for Europe can a manager lose nine games in a row without losing his job? At what club that prides itself on local identity can a president who so deeply alienates his supporters continue his mission?

"At what club that boasts a solid institution and a century-long history can the players seize power so easily? At Jim Ratcliffe's club, of course, the owner who locked all these people in what now resembles a gilded cage of red and black and threw away the key, never to hear of it again"

Ratcliffe stands accused of "leaving a takeover bid unanswered for weeks" and being "unreachable in the midst of the storm." "He, who wants to run a football club like a traditional business, doesn't even apply basic corporate principles, respecting procedures and the people who keep the club running."

The report concludes that "Jim doesn't care," with his inaction prompting fans to relaunch a petition that has so far garnered 3,000 signatures. In the headline of the article, the billionaire is even likened to "Fantomas," a fictional French criminal from famous 20th-century novels.

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