Sir Jim Ratcliffe officially appoints new manager

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s growing footprint in football has meant that his attention is now split across multiple projects, with his hands-on involvement extending well beyond his minority stake at Manchester United.

Since entering the Old Trafford hierarchy, Ratcliffe has taken direct responsibility for sporting operations, driving structural reforms, cost controls, and long-term planning while overseeing difficult decisions behind the scenes.

However, United are not the only club under his ownership umbrella requiring close supervision at present.

Across the Channel, attention has turned to his Ligue 1 outfit, OGC Nice, where instability at the boardroom and coaching level has forced decisive action.

Nice, who have been hovering around the European qualification places in Ligue 1, have endured a turbulent spell marked by internal upheaval and inconsistent results.

That uncertainty culminated in the departure of club president Fabrice Bocquet and the subsequent exit of head coach Franck Haise, who left the role by mutual agreement following mounting pressure.

Haise had previously acknowledged that he could become a scapegoat for the club’s struggles and had even offered his resignation prior to Bocquet stepping aside, according to reports in France.

With stability deemed essential in a demanding sporting context, Nice moved quickly to appoint a familiar and experienced figure to steady the ship.

The club have entrusted first-team duties until the end of the season to Claude Puel, a coach deeply connected to Nice after previously leading them between 2012 and 2016, which was officially confirmed on their website.

Puel arrives with extensive top-flight experience, having managed clubs including Lyon, Lille, Monaco, Southampton and Leicester City, and is viewed as a safe pair of hands during a transitional phase.

He is joined by Julien Sable as assistant coach, alongside existing staff members Cedric Varrault and goalkeeping coach Stephane Cassard, reinforcing continuity within the technical setup.

In confirming the changes, Nice thanked Haise and his staff for their work and commitment while expressing confidence that Puel’s familiarity with the club can help lift performances over the closing months of the campaign.

For Ratcliffe, the developments underline the complexity of balancing ownership across elite clubs, with decisive intervention now required in France as much as at Old Trafford.