Ineos and Ratcliffe's sporting empire risks atrophy with horizons narrowing | Nick Ames

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The dream of sharing expertise across six sports, hoping to be supreme in all, was always likely to be a high wire act

Five and a half years ago, Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos swept into OGC Nice with a mission statement. "We have a plan in place and we will follow it," read one of the billionaire's quotes amid a press release that outlined how the Ligue 1 club would become a regular player on the European scene. "I am adamant we will not be the dumb money."

It is one of the earliest usages, in the context of sports investment at least, of a phrase dear to Ratcliffe. "Dumb money" is exactly what it says: injecting funds without genuine insight or expertise into the relevant industry. A few months later Ratcliffe deployed the same term speaking about Manchester United, who were at that point a twinkle in his eye, with specific reference to a £47m transfer fee spent on Fred by the previous regime.