Sir Jim Ratcliffe needs to focus his resources on Manchester United amid his desire to sell French club Nice.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who has exclusively told Football Insider that Man United need to be “raising finances.”
Ratcliffe put Nice up for sale in May 2025, and he owns a 100% stake in the club, having purchased it for around £85million in 2019.
The club has yet to be sold and Ratcliffe may have to accept an offer for Nice below his asking price of €200m.
Man United not at ‘desperation stage’
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley believes Man United’s on-pitch performance is also behind the club’s financial struggles and is a factor in Ratcliffe’s push to sell Nice.
“I wouldn’t say we’re at desperation stage yet, but I think there’s a clear challenge still on the table at Manchester United, and we’ve said this before about, you know, raising funds in all manner of ways, raising finance,” Plumley said.
“They’ve got a big stadium project that they want to push forward with. We’ve seen the cost-cutting exercises. We’ve said they can’t keep missing out on the Champions League, if they’re going to keep pace with the European elite.
“And, you know, interestingly, the Deloitte Football money league is out, and they’ve slipped to eighth in the revenue table. They were fourth last year. Despite increasing their own revenues, they’ve still slipped.
“So they’re now behind Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint Germain, and then Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal. So you don’t want to keep happening too many times again with Manchester United. I say this a lot with Manchester United.
“Despite all their own pitch struggles, they are still a huge football club, and they’ve continued to drive commercial revenue and there’s a lot to be said for that. But you don’t want that on-pitch performance to keep slumping in the general picture, and you don’t want all this back-of-house, you know, kind of around the manager, the sporting director, the board, Jim Ratcliffe.
“You’ve got to get a hold of that. And it’s not kind of desperation stage right now, but, yeah, I think that the focus needs to be on Manchester United and taking this project forward because it’s a huge project.”
Man United weigh up Andoni Iraola move
Man United are interested in hiring Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola to become the next permanent boss at Old Trafford.
Bournemouth still want to extend Iraola’s time at the club, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Man United will also face competition from Crystal Palace for the 43-year-old, who first joined Bournemouth in 2023.
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