OGC Nice, who are owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS, avoided the drop from Ligue 1 after beating St. Etienne 4-1 on aggregate in a relegation play-off
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe avoided a catastrophic scenario after Ineos-owned OGC Nice secured their Ligue 1 status. The French outfit, who are also controlled by the United co-owner, will receive £18.2million in prize money after avoiding the drop to Ligue 2.
Nice, who concluded the regular Ligue 1 season in 16th, defeated Ligue 2 side St. Etienne 4-1 on aggregate to guarantee their place in the French top tier. The contest was evenly balanced following a 0-0 stalemate in St. Etienne on Tuesday evening and Nice went ahead through Jonathan Clauss in the 62nd minute.
Yet the visitors hit back after Zuriko Davitashvili converted a penalty in the 79th minute to create a tense finale. Kail Boudache found the net just two minutes later to ease any concerns, before Elye Wahi netted a late double to seal the outcome beyond any doubt.
It's a massive reprieve for Nice who have consistently challenged for European qualification and have not ended lower than 11th since 2014/15. Nevertheless, the disappointing season in France will do little to improve relations between supporters and Ineos.
There have been multiple demonstrations against their ownership of the French side, with pitch invasions, boycotts and alarming incidents where ultras stormed the training ground in 2025. It ended up being a successful season United, who have secured their return to Champions League football under Michael Carrick.
The Red Devils are edging closer to their first signing of the summer, with Brazilian midfielder Ederson set to make the move to Old Trafford from Serie A outfit Atalanta. It marks the first show of ambition from the club following Carrick's call for United to push on next season.
Speaking after the final match of the campaign, the United boss said: "As a football club, you want to keep moving forward. We certainly as a football club want to keep moving forward.
"I think it's acknowledged we're at this stage, and the dynamics and the balance of the direction we're at, where we've ended up getting to and finishing in the league.
"There's obviously work to do. It's quite obvious, with certain players leaving, there's a bit of work to do."