It’s not just at Manchester United that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s reign is under fire. Rather than immediate progress and a turnaround in club fortunes, the INEOS takeover has thus far been plagued by the side’s poor form on the pitch and ruthless cost-cutting off it.
Ratcliffe has been criticised for axing hundreds of jobs at Old Trafford while raising ticket prices for fans. The decision to hand Erik ten Hag a new contract in the summer was soon contradicted by the ex-manager’s sacking in October, while the appointment of new sporting director Dan Ashworth also proved short-lived. It’s culminated with United remaining on course for their worst-ever Premier League season, with the Europa League now the only realistic salvation for Ruben Amorim and his players.
United aren’t Ratcliffe’s only footballing concern, though. INEOS purchased French team Nice in 2019, and although they were involved in the same European competition this season, Ratcliffe has stepped away from running the Ligue 1 outfit due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
Last month, he was less than subtle when explaining that his priority was United. The 72-year-old delivered a damning verdict on the standard of play in France, telling The Times: “I don’t particularly enjoy going to watch Nice because there are some good players, but the level of football is not high enough for me to get excited.”
Those comments have irked Nice manager Franck Haise. His side is fourth in Ligue 1 and on course for their best-ever finish since Ratcliffe took over six years ago.
“He (Ratcliffe) hasn’t seen a Nice match this season,” said Haise, ahead of his side’s trip to Monaco tonight. “He is speaking a bit more about what he saw at another time. With the people who are here at the club, we are here to make the club progress in order to be even better.”
However, the 53-year-old conceded it was futile to let the comments become a distraction, adding: “We can be annoyed, that’s obvious. But is it really worth staying annoyed for a long time? We have to keep working, enjoying ourselves and doing the best possible.”
There will at least be no conflict of interest for Ratcliffe in the latter stages of the Europa League this season. The French side endured an awful group stage and exited after taking just three points from their eight group stage matches, while United have a quarter-final with Lyon to look forward to next month.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk