Sir Jim Ratcliffe cut a glum figure as he watched Nice lose to Roma in their Europa League opener on Wednesday night.
British billionaire Ratcliffe, 72, owns the French side and Swiss outfit Lausanne-Sport alongside his position as a co-owner of Manchester United.
His INEOS group completed a takeover of Nice in August 2019, but he has had mixed success, with their highest finish in Ligue 1 being fourth during that time, while their best performance in Europe came during a run to the Conference League quarter-finals in 2023-24.
Ratcliffe is not often spotted watching Nice, something he has been criticised for in the past, yet he took the time to travel to the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday night.
However, second half goals from Evan Ndicka and Gianluca Mancini put the Italian side ahead, and despite Terem Moffi pulling one back, Roma won the game 2-1.
And as the cameras panned to the crowd, Ratcliffe looked less than impressed.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe cut a glum figure as he watched Nice lose to Roma in their Europa League tie
Ratcliffe has previously been criticised for his failure to watch the French side, who he owns
Ratcliffe, who has previously admitted he has made mistakes with the French club, landed himself in hot water earlier this year when he criticised Nice and French football.
‘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,’ he had said.
This had frustrated manager Franck Haise, who defiantly hit back at his owner.
‘The article that [the comments] appeared in was a lot more complete than that. But he hasn’t seen a Nice match this season,’ Haise explained.
‘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.’
He then added: ‘It’s not that serious. We can be annoyed, that’s obvious.
‘But is it really worth staying annoyed for a long time? We have got to keep working, enjoying ourselves and we have got to be doing the best possible. We have to move on and continue on our path.’
Nice currently sit 12th in Ligue 1 and their squad includes former Premier League stars Jeremie Boga, Tanguy Ndombele and Morgan Sanson.
Roma won the match 2-1 thanks to goals from Evan Ndicka (above) and Gianluca Mancini
Ratcliffe has been heavily involved at United but he has endured a difficult start as co-owner
Meanwhile, speaking last year, Ratcliffe admitted that Ineos had ‘made a lot of c**k-ups’ at Nice and Lausanne, who they bought in 2017.
‘We’ve made some really stupid decisions in both those clubs,’ he said. ‘There are a lot of organisations in the world where, if you make a mistake, you get shot, so nobody ever puts their head above the parapet.
‘But at INEOS, we don’t mind people making mistakes – but please don’t make it a second time.
‘So with that, we’re much less than sympathetic when they make the same mistake twice.
‘We have made mistakes in football, so I’m really pleased that we made those mistakes before we arrived here at Manchester United.
‘If we hadn’t, this would be a much tougher job for us. Because it is huge and it’s very exposed.’
Ratcliffe’s record at United has left a lot to be desired since he became a part-owner in February 2024, with the 72-year-old embarking on a brutal cost-cutting process at the club, while on pitch performances are yet to improve.
He does remain heavily involved though, and last week flew in for talks with under pressure head coach Ruben Amorim following the Red Devils’ difficult start to the season.
