Manchester United are the flagship of a multi-club network overseen by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos.
It has been just over two years since the Ineos takeover at Manchester United, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s co-ownership of the club has introduced a new string of sister clubs.
Ratcliffe also owns Nice in Ligue 1 as well as Swiss Super League side FC Lausanne. Multi-club ownership is a growing trend in modern football, led by groups such as the City Football Group, the Red Bull group and BlueCo.
The idea behind an MCO (Multi-club ownership) is to help develop players, share training and performance data and expand scouting and transfer reach.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe shakes hands at Old Trafford.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
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Ineos chief and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe attends the official opening of the refurbished training complex at Carrington in 2025 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Who are Man United’s sister clubs?
Because of the Ineos ownership, United now have ties to Nice in France, who are currently 15th in Ligue 1.
Ratcliffe is open to selling Nice after buying the club for £89m in 2019. The financial issues in French football are one of the driving forces behind Ratcliffe’s desire to sell.
But the first club added to the Ineos portfolio is Swiss club FC Lausanne, who were acquired by Ratcliffe in 2017.
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Lausanne have worked closely with United, including a trial week for Red Devils youngsters and several loan deals to the Swiss club.
Lausanne are currently eighth in the Swiss Super League.
What percentage of the clubs do Ineos own?
Following his initial takeover and a further £300m investment, Ratcliffe now owns a 29% stake in United, but is granted full sporting control by majority owners, the Glazer family.
There are drag-along rights attached to Ratcliffe’s takeover deal which means the American owners can force Ratcliffe to complete a full sale to a third party, in case he can’t buy out the Glazers.
Ineos own 100% of Nice and Lausanne, giving Ratcliffe full control over both clubs.
However, Nice have been put into a blind trust by Ratcliffe to stop any conflict of interest if they are competing in the same European competitions as United or any Ineos-owned clubs.
Are you happy with Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Players traded between the Ineos multi-club umbrella
One of the advantages of multi-club networks is that clubs can easily trade players and keep track of their progress.
United were blocked from signing Jean-Clair Todibo because of conflict of interest in 2024, but there have been several deals done between the Red Devils and Lausanne.
Recently, Sekou Kone has joined Lausanne on loan, and he has joined Enzo Kana-Biyik at Lausanne.
The academy trio of Habeeb Ogunneye, Jack Kingdon and Ethan Williams all travelled to Lausanne for a training camp in late 2024, but eventually returned to Carrington.
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