Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly looking to sell French club OGC Nice as a long-term solution to abide by UEFA rules.
It was confirmed last December that INEOS founder and chairman Ratcliffe had purchased a 25 per cent stake in . The purchase was completed in February.
The heavily-criticised Glazer family remained majority shareholders following the British billionaire s takeover.
Ratcliffe has already made some big moves in his bid to turn around the Red Devils fortunes, swiftly convincing Manchester City chief executive Omar Berrada to swap blue for red.
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The 71-year-old is also involved with French club Nice and Swiss outfit Lausanne, with the former securing a Europa League spot for 2024/25.
This is a headache for Ratcliffe as UEFA rules state that two clubs under the same ownership cannot compete in the same continental competition.
UEFA has granted the two clubs permission to compete in the Europa League next term, though this is not a long-term solution, with rules to become stricter from 25/26, allowing 24/25 to be a transitional campaign.
The long-term solution for Ratcliffe appears to be selling his stake in one of the clubs and naturally, Nice is his choice.
Having only recently completed a lifelong dream of owning his boyhood club, Ratcliffe was never going to throw that opportunity away after four months.
Man Utd takeover: Ratcliffe looking to sell Nice amid UEFA rules
, INEOS are now looking to sell United s sister club Nice, which will help Ratcliffe comply with UEFA s rules on multi-club ownership .
The report claims that Ratcliffe wants to focus on Man Utd but he faces a problem in his bid to sell Nice as French football is currently in disarray after Ligue 1 failed to secure a broadcast partner for next season.
Nice s attractive location might help Ratcliffe out and with moves at an early stage five years after Ratcliffe s group bought the Ligue 1 side.
UEFA s temporary fix regarding both clubs participation sees Nice being placed in blind trust , similar to that of AC Milan and Toulouse both owned by Red Bird Capital in 23/24.
Again, the report notes the complicating factor of Ligue 1 s domestic TV market collapsing .
