Ratcliffe ready to sell his stake after Man United deal blocked – sources
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to sell his share in Nice after Man United were blocked from signing Jean-Clair Todibo this week, sources have told Football Insider.
As revealed by Fabrizio Romano, Uefa intervened to stop the 20-time Premier League champions from signing the 24-year-old defender.
Talks between both parties were at an advanced stage but the club’s shared ownership through Ratcliffe and INEOS has caused the agreement to collapse.
Ratcliffe told Bloomberg that Nice are allowed to sell Todibo to other Premier League clubs but cannot strike a deal with United.
As revealed by Football Insider, Todibo was part of a three-man shopping list as United look to bolster their defence.
Uefa recently allowed United to compete alongside Nice in next season’s Europa League despite their shared ownership.
Ratcliffe eyes takeover after Man United Todibo deal blocked
However, Ratcliffe has since revealed that he has had to put Nice into a trust for a year to avoid conflict of interest concerns.
Sources have told Football Insider that Ratcliffe is now prepared to sell his controlling share in Nice in order to ease the restrictions around multi-club ownership.
It is not yet clear whether Ratcliffe will retain a minority stake in the club.
The British billionaire paid around £89million (€100m) to acquire Nice in 2019.
Since the takeover, Nice have not finished higher than fifth with the French club not competing in the Champions League since the 2017-18 season.
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