Sir Jim Ratcliffe is edging closer to selling French side Nice a year after putting the club up for sale. The Manchester United co-owner initially slapped a £200million valuation on Nice, having purchased them through his petrochemicals conglomerate, INEOS, in 2019.
But after struggling to attract interest, Ratcliffe is understood to have slashed his asking price by a 'significant' amount in January. New York-based firm Lazard were entrusted to oversee the sale process and now there's been some movement.
According to local outlet Nice-Matin, two parties have emerged as potential buyers. The report explains that one is from Europe and the other is from the USA.
Since INEOS' purchase of the club, Nice have had seven different permanent managers. They've also been in the Europa League or Conference League in five of the seven seasons that Ratcliffe has been at the helm, although he's gradually become less hands-on due to his focus on United.
His disengagement hasn't gone down well with Nice's fan base, who feel that they've been neglected - and his public comments haven't helped. In an interview with the Times last year, Ratcliffe admitted: "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."
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At the time, then-manager Franck Haise responded: "The article that [the comments] appeared in was a lot more complete than that. But he hasn't seen a Nice match this season.
"He's 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."
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe's interest in Nice has wained(Image: Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport via Getty Images)
The four-time French champions finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season. This term, however, they're on course for their lowest finish since the 2013-14 campaign.
Now managed by former Southampton and Leicester City boss Claude Puel, Nice have just 31 points on the board with two games of the season left. That puts them in 15th place, three points above the relegation play-off spot which is currently occupied by Auxerre.
