‘He’d never interfere’: Patrick Vieira explains what it’s like to work under prospective Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Erik ten Hag doesn’t have to worry about Sir Jim Ratcliffe interfering with his work at Manchester United, should the British billionaire’s bid for the Red Devils be successful.

That’s according to former Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira, who worked under Ratcliffe’s ownership at French side Nice. 

Vieira spent a season under different owners in 2018/19, before Ratcliffe’s Ineos took over in July 2019. Vieira lasted another 18 months before being sacked, following a run of 5 losses in a row in all competitions. 

The Frenchman is positive in his assessment of Manchester United’s prospective new owner, though, highlighting what it’s like to work under him from his own personal experience. 

“He’d never interfere with my work,” Vieira told FourFourTwo. 

“We’d talk about football when we met, about the team and our lives, but he’s not an owner who will get involved too much and prevent the manager from doing his job.

“His ambitions and expectations are high, so you know where you stand, but you can do your job freely.”

As well as Nice, Ratcliffe also owns Swiss Swiss Super League team FC Lausanne-Sport, while outside of football the Ineos founder also owns the successful sailing team Ineos Brtannia – formerly Ineos Team UK, skippered by the legendary Sir Ben Ainslie. Cycling team Ineos Grenadiers is also among the company’s roster, which has already yielded success in the Tour de France.

Ineos also owns a third of Formula 1 team Mercedes, becoming principal partners on a five-year contract in 2020. 

The third round of bidding for Manchester United is set to end on Friday, with Ratcliffe expected to make a new proposal alongside fellow prospective buyer Sheikh Jassim.

According to The Times (opens in new tab), the new bid would see Ratcliffe’s Ineos firm buy a majority stake of just over 50 per cent, allowing the Glazers to either sell their remaining ownership in the club, or simply retain a 20 per cent stake.

The remaining percentage of the club’s ownership would stay with investment groups.

Sheikh Jassim, meanwhile, is still expected to continue with his offer of acquiring 100 per cent ownership of the club, buying out both the Glazers and investment groups in the process. 

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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture’s websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.