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Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his men have come like a tornado at Old Trafford, with sweeping changes in all areas of the club, at least off the pitch.
One big hurdle they passed was talking with UEFA over how the multi-club ownership model will impact Manchester United and OGC Nice in the Europa League next year.
Of course, it turned out to be pretty much a non-story, just ask RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig or next season, Manchester City and Girona.
However, there were reports that to avoid falling afoul of future, more stringent rules, Sir Jim might take a drastic step.
The Peoples Person recently relayed a report that the INEOS chief was looking to sell OGC Nice, his Ligue 1 club.
He wanted to devote all his time and energy to his boyhood club instead while also solving the multi-club ownership issue once and for all.
However, now, the OGC Nice President, Jean-Pierre Rivere, has broken his silence on those reports in a talk with L’Equipe.
Rivere strongly denied such reports, saying that the club is “absolutely not” for sale and if it was, it wouldn’t be something to hide since it’s not “murder or shameful” to put a club up for sale.
Rivere was robust in his assessment of the situation, going as far as to say that even if the club was for sale, it wouldn’t be a huge blow as the organisation, as it stands, is extremely healthy and structured.
He said: “The owner’s objective is absolutely not to sell the club. If the club was for sale, I’d tell you willingly because it’s not murder or shameful to put a club up for sale.
“But, I’ll repeat myself, that isn’t the case. But, if one day it does go up for sale, there wouldn’t be any problem because [the club] is healthy and structured.”
It is understandable and the initial reports of a sale were always pretty difficult to believe since multi-club ownership is not only here to stay, but it is increasing around the world.
The ethics aside, taking a step back instead of moving with the times would not have been a wise business move for INEOS.
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