'No respect' - Man Utd owners INEOS blasted as Nice crisis worsens

Tom Weber

• Updated: 15 May 2024 15:53 BST
• 3 min read

Outspoken French pundit Jerome Rothen has blasted INEOS for their treatment of Ligue 1 side Nice.

Before Sir Jim Ratcliffe's billion-pound company took partial control of Man Utd earlier this year, INEOS had acquired a controlling stake in OGC Nice in 2019 with the promise of making the side competitive at the summit of the French top flight.

However, things haven't panned out that way. After a good start to the season in which Francesco Farioli's bland but effective defensive style of football proved successful, the wheels have come off in recent months and Nice have slipped from second to fifth in Ligue 1.

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Though things have improved over the last few weeks, with Nice now unbeaten in five league fixtures, the crisis has not subsided. On the contrary, it only seems to be getting worse and the club is at risk of falling apart this summer.

Coach Farioli appears to be close to a move to Ajax, while star defender Jean-Clair Todibo openly flirted with a transfer on Tuesday. Midfielder Khephren Thuram will be on the market this summer for as little as €15 million and highly-rated sporting director Florent Ghisolfi reportedly wants out after just 18 months because INEOS sold him a dream. They promised him an ambitious project, but it is nowhere to be found.

Rothen blasts INEOS

Now, controversial pundit Jerome Rothen has chimed in, claiming that INEOS 'don't respect French football.' Ratcliffe's time in charge of Nice appears to be one of broken promises and it is hard to argue with Rothen's statements.

“It drives me crazy because I think they’re the owners there so we have to respect them because they put in the money, but they don’t respect French football – and they respect clubs like Nice even less,” the former PSG man said on his radio show Rothen s'enflamme.

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“Between not putting in the billions you promised and just putting in a few million, there is no problem but you can at least commit to the long term, create stability because that is the path to success in football."

"The more stable you are, the more chance the team has of progressing...but everything is up for sale!”