Sir Jim Ratcliffe moves step closer to selling stake in Nice with American investor interested

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s venture into French football is nearing its end.

The Manchester United minority owner put Ligue 1 side OCG Nice up for sale last May with a valuation of £200million.

Ratcliffe entrusted Lazard, a New York-based firm to oversee the sale process.

However, the lofty price tag failed to attract many interested parties.

It forced Ratcliffe’s asking price to ‘come down significantly’ in January, per Bloomberg.

Who is interested in purchasing Nice from Ratcliffe?

The lower price has now reportedly attracted a handful of prospective buyers.

According to French publication Nice-Matin, there are two parties who are interested in taking the club off of Ratcliffe’s hands.

The report claims one is from Europe and the other is from the USA.

Ratcliffe purchased Nice in August 2019 via his company INEOS in what marked his second foray into football ownership having purchased Swiss side Lausanne-Sport two years prior.

How have Nice performed during the INEOS era?

Under Ratcliffe’s tenure, Nice have been a constant presence in the top half.

Le Gym even finished as high as fourth last season under the guidance of Franck Haise.

However, Haise has since been sacked and replaced by former Leicester City and Southampton boss Claude Puel.

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Nice are on course for their lowest Ligue 1 finish since the 2013/14 campaign, where they finished 17th albeit when the competition included 20 teams before being cut to 18 in 2023.

Puel’s side sit 15th on 31 points, eight clear of the relegation zone, with two Ligue 1 fixtures remaining.

Ratcliffe’s desire to sell Nice comes as he puts more time and energy into boyhood club United, where he is in control of footballing matters.

The 73-year-old’s decision to get involved with United wasn’t a popular one among Nice supporters.

Ratcliffe’s red-hot Red Devils

Ratcliffe did little to help his case, especially after claiming he didn’t ‘particularly enjoy’ watching Nice because ‘the level of football is not high enough’ to get him ‘excited’.

Luckily for Ratcliffe, that won’t be an issue for him next season after United secured their return to Champions League football.

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The Red Devils punched their ticket into European football’s elite competition following a see-sawing 3-2 win over Liverpool on Sunday.

United’s win also appears to have helped interim manager Michael Carrick‘s case for becoming their permanent boss, with talkSPORT understanding the club legend is edging closer towards a full-time appointment.