Author: cimi

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS are searching for buyers for French side Nice as they seek to put their full focus on Manchester United, it has emerged.

INEOS took charge of the Ligue 1 club in 2019 but have been accused of abandoning Nice ever since their minority takeover of United in 2024, which set the group back a cool £1.25bn. Ratcliffe himself has even admitted he does not think the team are good enough to entertain him.

After both Nice and United qualified for this season’s Europa League, Ratcliffe placed ownership of the former into a “blind trust” in order to satisfy UEFA’s rule forbidding clubs that share owners from competing in the same tournament.

Now taking one final step back, L’Informe were the first to reveal that Ratcliffe and INEOS have enlisted the help of New York-based investment bank Lazard to find a buyer for Nice.

Ratcliffe is looking for a deal worth €250m and is said to have already attracted interest from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, who already own Newcastle United.

Unfortunately for Nice, there are significant financial issues plaguing the future of French football. Ligue 1’s broadcasting agreement with DAZN collapsed just one year into a four-season agreement and the league do not currently have a way of televising their matches next season.

With no guaranteed media income, clubs are forced to offer adjusted budget projections, which will undoubtedly complicate any plans for significant investment.

INEOS paid €100m to buy Nice, with recent accounts showing €216m of investment. The group also own Swiss side Lausanne-Sport who, like Nice, sit sixth in their country’s top flight.

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Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old Paris Saint-Germain striker Mahamadou Sangare, it has been revealed.

Sangare, who turned 18 in March, has 42 goals in 46 appearances for PSG’s youth sides, playing as high as Under-19 level. He was brought into senior training in December but has not featured in a matchday squad thus far.

With his contract expiring in the summer, Fabrizio Romano notes City have wrapped up a deal to bring Sangare to the Etihad Stadium in the summer.

There have been links between Sangare and other Premier League sides, including Chelsea and Manchester United, but it is Pep Guardiola’s City who will be adding the France youth international to their ranks at the end of the season.

This is not the first time that City have plucked a youngster from PSG’s academy. Defensive midfielder Claudio Gomes made the move on a free transfer in 2018 but never made it to the senior side before being sold to Palermo in 2022.

While City are focused on rebuilding Guardiola’s first team this summer, they are also making an effort to bolster their youth ranks and have a plan to eventually recruit 15-year-old Cavan Sullivan from Philadelphia Union.

City have had one of the strongest academies in English football for several years now. The Under-21s recently finished top of the Premier League 2, while Oliver Reiss’ Under-18s will face Aston Villa in the FA Youth Cup final next week.

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Paris Saint-Germain are wrapping top scorer Ousmane Dembele in cotton wool ahead of next week’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal.

Dembele has put up thunderous numbers since December and now has 33 goals and a further 22 assists to his name across all competitions this season.

The former Barcelona forward scored PSG’s early goal at the Emirates Stadium in last week’s first leg, which hands the French side the advantage heading into the second leg at Parc des Princes.

But Dembele only played 70 minutes of the opening encounter, withdrawn through injury.

RMC Sport has reported it was diagnosed as a “small” hamstring issue, but is prompting a precautionary approach from PSG. The 27-year-old sat out Thursday’s training session and is not expected to play any part in this weekend’s league match Strasbourg.

The overriding hope is that by the time it gets to Wednesday, Dembele will have had sufficient rest to once again lead the line for the visit of Arsenal.

Should Dembele be ruled out, it would be considered a boost to the Gunners, who have to win by one goal in the French capital just to force extra-time.

PSG and Arsenal are both targeting Champions League glory for the first time. The French giants reached the final in 2020, narrowly losing out against Bayern Munich. Arsenal played the 2006 edition against Barcelona and were leading until a late comeback.

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Bayer Leverkusen are paving the way for Xabi Alonso to leave the club for Real Madrid, with talks to appoint Erik ten Hag as his successor at the BayArena reported to be “very advanced”.

The process should allow Leverkusen, who have fallen off the pace set by Bayern Munich this season while still maintaining second place, to have a smooth transition from one era into another.

It emerged from Germany at the end of April that ex-Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag had been identified as Leverkusen’’s primary target.

Now, kicker writes that, with growing indications Alonso’s future away from the club is “virtually settled”, things have quickly progressed at Leverkusen to secure a replacement. A deal with Ten Hag is claimed to close, “if not already in agreement”.

Ten Hag has had a seven-month break from professional football since his dismissal by Manchester United in late October. The Dutchman paid the price for a poor start to the season, although successor Ruben Amorim has encountered similar difficulties in obtaining consistent results.

But Ten Hag still won two trophies – an EFL Cup and FA Cup – in his two full seasons, making him one of only six managers in the club’s 147-year history to deliver major silverware more than once.

The 55-year-old had previously made his name during a highly successful spell with Ajax, where he won three Eredivisie titles, two Dutch cups and got to within a kick of the 2019 Champions League final after eliminating Real Madrid and Juventus en route to the last four.

German football is not new for Ten Hag. After a decade earning his coaching stripes at academy level and then as an assistant, a short but successful spell at Go Ahead Eagles was followed by the offer of a job in charge of Bayern Munich II when Pep Guardiola ran the first-team.

During two years in Munich, Ten Hag’s side won the Bavarian state league, before he returned top flight football in his native Netherlands with former club Utrecht.

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Paris Saint-Germain have been billed as heavy favourites to lift this season’s Champions League title with just two games before the trophy is dished out.

Well, that was a decent midweek of Champions League knockout action, wasn’t it?

Two blockbuster semi-final first legs captured the attention of audiences across the world as Arsenal hosted Paris Saint-Germain and Inter visited Barcelona. Both duels showcased Europe’s best and brightest – albeit in stylistically different ways – and set up scorching second legs next week.

All four competitors still harbour genuine ambitions of conquering the continent and the Opta supercomputer has cast its predictions for this season’s most likely victor.

PSG oozed class during their 1-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. The Parisians purred for much of the encounter and a dominant opening half-hour saw them take control of the tie via Ousmane Dembele’s exquisite strike. Unsurprisingly, their performance in north London has seen them earn the tag of competition favourites, with Opta giving them a 41.9% chance of winning the trophy.

Their semi-final opponents, Arsenal, are now considered the competition outsiders. Prior to Tuesday’s affair they were given a 31.3% chance of winning the Champions League for the first time, but that has now slipped to just 12.1%. The Gunners must overcome a one-goal deficit during their second leg in the French capital just to reach the final, where they would then face Inter or Barcelona.

Wednesday’s semi-final was a more traditional barnstormer. Inter twice led during their 3-3 draw in Catalonia and despite surrendering their advantages, they will be content with the outcome. They have home advantage for the second leg and San Siro will be deafening for La Blaugrana’s visit. The Italians, who haven’t won the competition since 2009/10, have a 20.2% chance of ending their European drought.

Barcelona might not boast the sternest defence in the competition but they do possess the most devastating forward line. Lamine Yamal took centre stage during the first leg but Raphinha also showcased his genius. They will have no reservations heading to Milan and know they can outscore anybody on their day – which comes around fairly often. They are deemed favourites to progress but have just a 25.8% chance of glory.

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