Manchester United fans should expect 'no divide" between the owners and the players should Sir Jim Ratcliffe complete his proposed takeover at Old Trafford.
That's according to Nice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who admitted the reason he joined the French club was because of INEOS and Ratcliffe. The 70-year-old has emerged as the favourite to take over at United after he outbid Sheikh Jassim in the race to become the new United owner.
Ratcliffe's fresh offer, which is to buy the 69 percent stake owned by the Glazer family, includes the option of Joel and Avram Glazer retaining a minority stake. His move was interpreted by many as potentially giving him an advantage over Jassim, who is his main rival.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Schmeichel said: "One of the biggest reasons I joined Nice was because of INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford and their vision of how they want to evolve their sports. They have been successful in business and every other sporting venture they have thrown their investment at.
"Jim is a big Manchester United fan and I think that speaks to a lot of fans that he is someone who cares about the club. From my own experience at Nice, he is a man who is present, comes to games, is knowledgeable about football and has a vast knowledge about performance in general.
"He has great people like Dave Brailsford who work for him. The owners are present, there isn't the divide between the people who own the club and those who are there on a daily basis. I am biased in terms of hoping INEOS are the preferred bidders."
Schmeichel joined Nice last summer after an 11-year spell at Leicester but his stint in Ligue 1 hasn't gone as well as he would have hoped. Nice currently sit ninth, nine points behind fifth-place Lille in the Europa Conference League spot.
Nice's form has seeded some doubt amongst some United fans about whether Ratcliffe would be the right man to take over at United. While the Qataris and INEOS are the two main bids on the table, they are not the only ones.
Investment groups Elliott Management, The Carlyle Group and Ares Management are all interested in stumping up the cash for a minority stake in the club. Raine Group, the US bank overseeing the process, is now expected to pore over the paperwork submitted and deliberate with the Glazer family.
Over the next 10 days they will decide on a preferred bidder and the winning party will be granted a period of exclusivity to thrash out a deal.
