Manchester United are preparing for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival and he has now been praised by Nice boss Francesco Farioli.
We are seemingly just days away from the start of a new era at Old Trafford.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is poised to finalise his purchase of a 25% stake in United, paying around £1.25billion.
This is a huge deal for United and the hope is that Ratcliffe will start to turn the tide in the near future.
Ratcliffe will seize control of football operations at United and he has now been praised by a man who has already worked with him…
Francesco Farioli praises Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe and his company Ineos have already moved into football in recent years.
They took over Swiss club Lausanne-Sport in 2017 before adding French side Nice to their portfolio in 2019.
That means Ratcliffe and co aren’t coming into football completely blind and already have some experience in the game.
One Nice decision appears to be working perfectly having appointed Francesco Farioli as their new manager over the summer.
The Italian, formerly part of Roberto De Zerbi’s coaching staff, is unbeaten in Ligue 1 this season with Nice now sitting second behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Farioli has now spoken to The Telegraph about his dealings with Ratcliffe and offered up praise ahead of his involvement with United.
Farioli felt that Ratcliffe knew all about him despite only meeting after the Italian had already taken the job, hailing his involvement and knowledge.
“I met Jim Ratcliffe a few days after (taking the job) because he was very busy,” said Farioli. “But from his side, the first time we met, the feeling he transferred to me, it was really like the feeling of somebody that was really aware of many things. I felt already known before knowing him. It was a really warm welcome,” he added.
Could United follow Manchester City’s example under Ratcliffe?
Ratcliffe’s investment now presents United with an interesting situation in terms of having partner clubs.
Some may remember United sending players on loan to Royal Antwerp in the early 2000’s, with the Belgian side becoming something of a feeder club.
This would be something a little different though with United, Nice and Lausanne-Sport now interlinked by Ineos.
We have already heard former Nice boss Adrian Ursea suggest that Ratcliffe and Ineos want to build a football ‘galaxy’ like Red Bull and the City Football Group.
The operation across Manchester is pretty remarkable with 12 clubs now under the City Football group umbrella, from Manchester City to Mumbai City, from Yokohama F. Marinos to Melbourne City.
They have expanded across the globe and Ratcliffe may want to do the same at United, pushing for knowledge sharing and potential loan deals across the group moving forward.
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