The British billionaire is reportedly gearing up to sell his stake in Nice as he shifts his attention towards Manchester United. The Daily Star report that he is willing to listen to offers from Saudi Arabia with the Saudi Private Investment Fund (PIF) who own Premier League side Newcastle ready to make an offer.
INEOS acquired Nice for the sum of £89m (€100m) back in 2019 and Ratcliffe values the Ligue 1 side in excess of £200M which would mean a major profit. INEOS maintain that they are not abandoning Nice for United despite the sale and that the club will still recieve support.
Ratcliffe opened up on the French side in an interview with The Times were he revealed that he does not get excited by the level of football they play each week.
“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.
“The best season that Nice has had is this one, where we’ve not been allowed to get involved because of multi-club ownership rules. They’ve been so much better without our interference! Maybe there’s a lesson there as well, you know.”
Manager Franck Haise was forced to respond to his comments and admitted that at the time Ratcliffe has not seen them play in person all season.
“The article that the comments appeared in was a lot more complete than that. But he hasn't seen a Nice match this season.
“It's not that serious. We can be annoyed, that's obvious. But is it really worth staying annoyed for a long time?"
A top three finish would secure Champions League football next season for Nice which could raise Ratcliffe’s value even higher. A sale of such a huge proportion could help boost the finances of United who are in need of a huge summer overhaul under manager Ruben Amorim.