Nice manager Franck Haise has hit back at Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the club’s owner claimed he doesn’t enjoy watching them play.
Ratcliffe’s INEOS have owned the Ligue 1 side since August 2019, with the British Billionaire then famously purchasing a 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United last year, which later rose to 28.94 per cent.
The 72-year-old has enacted a ruthless leadership and cost-cutting campaign, which saw the departures of legend Sir Alex Ferguson, and Erik ten Hag throughout this season.
He has also been at the centre of controversy at Nice too after recently saying: ‘I don’t particularly enjoy going to watch Nice because there are some good players, but the level of football is not high enough for me to get excited.’
Haise says Ratcliffe has not watched the side this season and that his comments are based on their performances prior to his appointment in June 2024.
‘The article that [the comments] appeared in was a lot more complete than that. But he hasn’t seen a Nice match this season,’ he said.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe claimed he doesn’t ‘enjoy going to watch’ Nice because ‘the level of football is not high enough’
Nice boss Franck Haise says Ratcliffe’s comments are based on Nice’s previous seasons
‘He’s speaking a bit more about what he saw at another time,’ the Nice manager said in a press conference.
‘With the people who are here at the club, we are here to make the club progress in order to be even better.’
He then added: ‘It’s not that serious. We can be annoyed, that’s obvious.
‘But is it really worth staying annoyed for a long time? We have got to keep working, enjoying ourselves and we have got to be doing the best possible. We have to move on and continue on our path.’
Nice currently sit fourth in Ligue 1 – a position which would ensure they qualify for the Champions League next season.
Although league leaders PSG are out of reach, Le Gym are just two points behind second-placed Marseille and set to return to Europe’s elite competition for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.