Patrick Vieira has already told Erik ten Hag what to expect from Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Man United

Former OGC Nice manager Patrick Vieira has suggested that Erik ten Hag is likely to be left to his own devices if Sir Jim Ratcliffe successfully secures a stake in Manchester United.

The British billionaire, who is a lifelong United supporter, is looking to secure a 25 per cent stake in the club after main rival Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani pulled out of the takeover race on Saturday. He wanted full control of the club, but his offer was not enough to convince the Glazers into a full sale.

Instead, the Glazers look set to retain full control of the club, with Ratcliffe acquiring a quarter of the overall ownership. He, like Sheikh Jassim, first registered his interest back in February.

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Unlike the Qatari banker, Ratcliffe has experience of working in football, plus other sports, and currently owns two football clubs through chemical giant INEOS. They purchased Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport in 2017 and French outfit Nice two years later.

INEOS also purchased the Team Sky cycling team in 2019, meaning it was renamed as Team INEOS. The company also became principal partners of the Mercedes Formula One team in 2020, signing a five-year agreement.

After purchasing Nice in 2019, Ratcliffe sacked Vieira in December 2020, bringing an end to his two-and-a-half-year spell in charge of the Ligue 1 club. Though it was a disappointing ending to the former Arsenal midfielder's time in charge, he thought highly of Ratcliffe.

Speaking in an interview earlier this year, the Frenchman admitted that the soon-to-be 71-year-old would rarely interfere with his work,