Though we’re still no closer to knowing who will eventually take over Man United, if anyone, senior journalist, Jonathan Johnson, has sounded a warning to supporters of the club.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack, Johnson used the examples of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ownership of Nice and Lausanne as a potential sign that, perhaps, he isn’t the right man to be in charge at Old Trafford.
‘Although it’s been said that Nice will remain a priority for Ratcliffe, I’m not convinced that it will be,’ he wrote.
‘This is the third time that he has looked to acquire another club, and given that it’s Manchester United, supposedly his childhood club, it seems difficult to me that Nice would really remain that important should they manage to get in at Old Trafford.
‘I think given the financial needs of Manchester United, especially to get that deal over the line – we’re talking billions here -, let’s face it, Nice haven’t really been a success since he took over. It hasn’t been a complete disaster but it’s not been impressive. Lausanne in Switzerland, one of their other clubs, that hasn’t exactly been a roaring success either. So you do kind of wonder at some point if they do get United, what is the point of persevering with clubs like Nice.’
There would also likely be the issue of playing trading between the clubs, effectively having the French and Swiss outfits as feeder clubs for the Premier League giants.
‘The fans won’t accept Nice becoming a feeder club to Manchester United either,’ Johnson continued.
‘Of course there would probably be some players sent out on loan, that sort of thing – you’ve got a similar situation happening with Strasbourg and Chelsea at the moment – but these are proud clubs that count for something on the French footballing landscape. To simply think they’ll be there to supplement the first teams at some of these Premier League clubs is rich, and the fans won’t take that lying down.
‘They want their club to be challenging for European qualification, and should Ratcliffe be successful in acquiring Manchester United, that brings up the obvious question of ownership should either of them qualify for the same UEFA competition at some point in the future.
‘Given that that was supposedly the point of this project, it begs the question why potentially try and lead two clubs to the same goal when you’re going to get asked about your ownership interests in both.’
The other issue at hand of course is that, it would appear that Ratcliffe’s deal allows for the Glazer family to still retain an interest in the club at some level.
With supporters so desperate to see the back of the current owners, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them aligning themselves behind Sheikh Jassim’s bid, which is believed to be for one hundred percent, total control of the football club.
In truth, there are probably plusses and minuses to either bid, though it’s arguable that neither can be worse than what the club have had to put up with over the years under the Glazer family ownership.
Of course, there is still the possibility that the sale won’t go through at all and the status quo will remain the same.
‘Despite what is said publicly, I do think there’ll be a period of reflection regarding the Nice project should Ratcliffe get in at United but it’s still a big ‘if’ at this moment in time so let’s see how it plays out,’ Johnson added.