sport news What is Sir Jim Ratcliffe's record in sport as Ineos enter race to buy Man ... trends now

As news broke on Tuesday evening that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company Ineos put their hat into the ring to bid for Manchester United, there was a general reaction of excitement from Red Devils supporters.

Ratcliffe is expected to face rival interest from the United States, Asia and the Middle East after the Glazer family revealed their willingness to sell United following 17 years in power at Old Trafford, but he is the first bidder to formally announce his interest in the club.

The positive response from United fans was understandable given the 70-year-old is worth an estimated £13.3bn and is known as Britain's richest man, while he is also a fan of the club.

Ratcliffe, a chemicals magnate - previously tried to buy Chelsea before the Stamford Bridge club was taken over by a consortium led by Todd Boehly in May - and he met United co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer for formal talks last year.

Ratcliffe's company Ineos have gradually become more involved in sport over recent years, with the businessman buying French club Nice for £91m in 2019 two years after purchasing Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport.

They also have ties to the Mercedes F1 team, British sailing legend Ben Ainslie and they are a performance partner to the All Blacks, while they also sponsor the cycling team, Ineos Grenadiers - previously Team Sky.

In light of their interest in taking over United, Sportsmail takes a look at Ineos' record in sport.

Perhaps Ineos' most famous sporting involvement is their role as owners of French side Nice.

They took over the Ligue 1 side in the summer of 2019 for a reported €100m (£91m) and while they also own Swiss side Lausanne-Sport and have a partner club in  Racing Club Abidjan of Ivory Coast - Nice is the most appropriate comparison when looking at a potential takeover of United.

There has been significant investment since their purchase with the club spending €209.4m (£183.8m) in the transfer market over their four seasons in charge.

The injection of capital has come at a time when Ligue 1 clubs bar state-owned PSG have struggled financially since the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning you would expect the investment to translate into significant success.

However, it hasn't been plain sailing, with Nice failing to reach the heights that might have been expected, while the club has also seen five managers in charge since 2019.

Patrick Vieira was dismissed in 2020, while Adrian Ursea, Christophe Galtier and Lucien Favre have also been and gone in the hotseat with Didier Digard currently in charge as interim manager.

Fifth-placed finishes in 2019-20 and 2021-22 do point to positives at the club under Ineos, although the subsequent Europa League campaign in 2020-21 saw them finish rock bottom of their group.

They've impressed in the Europa Conference League this season - as they topped their group and secured passage to the Round of 16 - while they were also runners-up in the Coupe de France last season.

However, in the 2020-21 season, Nice finished ninth - while they are also struggling for consistency this campaign - sitting in 10th, 12 points off the European places.

Their transfer business this year has been baffling too, with a section on Ineos' website listing their involvement in football saying: 'A key focus is on the development of top young talent across all the clubs, providing the critical pathways for their development.'

However, this summer, Nice completed the signings of Premier League outcast Ross Barkley, 31-year-old Aaron Ramsey and 35-year-old Kasper Schmeicel - all three players are well past their best.

Before Ineos' takeover, Nice had reached the Europa League in two of the previous three seasons, meaning one appearance in that competition in just under four years can't be seen as much progress. 

Despite heavy spending and a focus on helping Nice break into France's elite, Ineos haven't quite reached the heights they had hoped to with the French side.

Ineos haven't fared much better with Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport who they took control of in November 2017.

The first signing under the new ownership was a statement one - as they brought in Enzo Zidane - son of French icon Zinedine, who had come through the youth ranks at Real Madrid.

However, they were relegated from the Swiss Super League in their inaugural campaign in charge, before they were promoted back up as champions in 2019-20.

Lausanne stayed up for one season - before they were relegated back to the second tier of Swiss football last year - finishing 18 points adrift of safety.

It hasn't been easy for Ludovic Magnin's side this year, with

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