Sir Jim Ratcliffe investment may give Manchester United transfer advantage in race for two players

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in the spotlight as he waits for his partial takeover of Manchester United to become a reality.

The pressure has never been higher to see change during the second half of United’s season and fans will be hoping Sir Jim's INEOS team can ring in the changes to help improve the club's situation. Ratcliffe has control over a variety of businesses in his portfolio as an investor and will draw from his experience under his previous sports investments.

The INEOS founder already owns OGC Nice, which is in the French Ligue 1, which raises questions over whether it is against FIFA or UEFA rules to buy or loan players from a club you already own. The short answer is no. It is no secret that for years, large clubs have had football groups that try to combine the power of many clubs to maximise profit and resources.

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This is no new element. Manchester City is a part of the City Group, a large group of football clubs containing the likes of Melbourne, Girona, and New York City. One of the most bizarre events to come from this can be traced back to Frank Lampard’s loan move from New York City to Manchester City in 2014.

In November 2023, the Premier League held a vote to ban loan deals between associated clubs to stop deals similar to Lampard's, but the clubs voted against it. Due to this Manchester United could make the most of their impending association with OGC Nice to acquire some players to enhance their squad.

There are currently two OGC Nice players who are being tracked by various clubs at present. Defender