AARON RAMSEY praised potential Manchester United owner Jim Ratcliffe for the impressive work he has done with Nice.
The former Arsenal midfielder joined the French club on a free transfer in the summer and says he likes the way it is run.
PASir Jim Ratcliffe is in talks to take over at Manchester United[/caption]
Aaron Ramsey is playing for the Ratcliffe-owned NiceGetty
Boyhood Red Devils fan Ratcliffe is looking to take control of the club – but faces competition from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim.
Ramsey, 32, said: “The owner is very passionate and very invested into Nice.
“He wants to take Nice all the way to the top.
“It’s a great project to be a part of. It just feels like a family-oriented club.
“It’s been quite nice, really enjoyable. there’s worse places in the world to be playing.”
Nice have reached the quarter finals of the Europa Conference League and are well-placed to secure qualification for a UEFA competition next season too.
They sit seventh in the Ligue 1 table, just six points adrift of a place in the Conference League qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Ratcliffe and the other contenders to take over at Man Utd are set to revise their bids by Tuesday.
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These are more formal offers, expected to be higher than the initial valuations which were understood not to exceed £4.5bn.
With the Glazer family believing the club is worth £6bn, there is a considerable gap which is unlikely to be completely filled in the next stage.
But it does mean that the Glazers’ chosen intermediary, the US-based Raine Group, could be in a position to formally declare a “preferred bidder” by either Friday or the beginning of next week.
That would open the way for full due diligence of the club, its finances and assets, to begin, a process that might take two weeks or more to be completed.
Even so, there remains a high degree of uncertainty, especially if none of the bidders comes within hailing distance of the Glazer sale price.
While Sheikh Jassim, a member of the Qatari royal family, is seeking a full takeover, Sir Jim’s Ineos group is aiming to buy out the Glazers’ 69 per cent controlling stake.
And it does mean there might be a third effective auction bidding stage with Raine conducting proceedings to attempt to ensure a final price closer to the Glazers’ preferred valuation.
Sheikh Jassim, however, is reportedly set to make a second bid for the Red Devils in the coming days.
That’s according to Sky Sports, who claim the Qatari will table his second gambit on Wednesday.
It’s claimed the Sheikh’s team worked on the new offer over the weekend – just days after fresh talks with the Glazers at Old Trafford and Carrington.