Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s five biggest transfers and how they fared before Man Utd deal
With Britain's one-time richest man set to purchase a minority stake at Manchester United, he will be expected to follow up his work at French club Nice by overseeing transfer activity at Old Trafford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is closing in on securing a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United in a £1.3 billion deal as he prepares to bring his experience from running Nice to the Premier League.
The British billionaire, who formerly was the country's richest man, will gain a significant share of the world-famous club from the Glazer Family. It is expected that the INEOS CEO will take charge of the day-to-day football operations at Old Trafford after the deal is official sealed.
Ratcliffe's impending involvement with the Red Devils does appear to have already ushered in a period of transition at the club, with CEO Richard Arnold having departed his post this month. United's football director John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and director of football operations David Harrison all are also thought to be facing uncertain futures at the club.
Ratcliffe will be hoping that he is able to bring success back to United and is clearly eager to put his own stamp on affairs from the offing. His role at the 20-time Premier League champions will also see him oversee transfer activity and a number of potential targets such as Paul Mitchell and Dougie Freedman have been mentioned as candidates to replace Murtough.
Having been the owner of Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice since August 2019, alongside Swiss Super League side Lausanne-Sport since 2017, he already has experience in terms of making signings. Without further ado, Mirror Football looked into how his five most expensive purchases fared...
Terem Moffi
Ratcliffe's most expensive buy at Nice was centre forward Terem Moffi, who cost the British tycoon a cool €22.50m (£19.5m) earlier this year. The striker had initially been signed on loan, with an obligation to buy, and he has repaid the club for their investment by netting 12 times in his first 32 games for the club.
He has three goals so far this term in Ligue 1 but his strikes all came in the first five games of the campaign. Since then, the Nigerian ace has failed to find the net, however.
Sofiane Diop
The incoming shareholder at Old Trafford parted with €22.00m (£19m) to sign Sofiane Diop from AS Monaco in August 2022 but Nice are yet to see him rediscover the form he showed in the Principality. He has only scored twice in 36 games for his new employers, contributing a further four assists.
Prior to this, the left winger has showed significant promise with decent goalscoring returns in 2020-21 and 2022-23, with seven and nine strikes in his last two full campaigns. Still, at 23-years-old, the former France U-21s star has time to put things right in Nice.
Kasper Dolberg
Former wonderkid Kasper Dolberg had been touted for greatness, having excelled in his early years coming through at Ajax's fabled academy. With some real pedigree to his name, Ratcliffe parted with €20.50m (£17m) to bring the Danish international to Allianz Riviera Stadium.
A significant coup for the ambitious French club, the forward had his best campaign in his first season at Nice, contributing 11 goals in 26 appearances. However, two less productive seasons followed for Dolberg, as he failed to match that total again before being farmed out on loan twice and eventually moving to Anderlecht in the summer.
Jérémie Boga
Former Chelsea trainee Jérémie Boga was another big purchase for Ratcliffe on the left wing, with the Ivory Coast international commanding a fee of €18.00m (£15.6m) this summer from Atalanta. The former Birmingham City loan star spent just one year with the Serie A star before moving to Nice as he looks to recapture his best form.
Boga showed what he is capable of during the 2019-20 season with Sassuolo, as he scored 11 times in 35 games in the Italian top flight. So far, he has showed some glimpses of talent following his switch to Nice, scoring twice and assisting one goal in his first 10 outings.
Gaëtan Laborde
A shrewd investment by Jim Ratcliffe, the British business guru spent €15.00m (£13m) on centre forward Gaëtan Laborde in September 2022. With a strong track record as a consistent goalscorer in Ligue 1 going back five years, the former France youth international's signing has proven to be a bargain so far.
He managed to notch 13 times in 33 appearances during his first full season with Nice and was the team's top scorer in Ligue 1 during 2022-23. So far during this current campaign, the striker has only scored twice in 12 appearances but he has been playing in an unorthodox wide position instead of his favoured role.
