Nice manager Francesco Farioli has provided some insight about the functioning of INEOS and the group’s CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who seems set to take sporting control of Premier League giants Manchester United.
INEOS will some complete a minority takeover of United, with the move set to go through soon and Ratcliffe is expected to take over the sporting section of the Old Trafford-based club, with former CEO Richard Arnold already having left and director John Murtough set to depart soon.
Farioli, who was appointed as the Nice manager over the summer under the tutelage of Ratcliffe, recently spoke to The Telegraph and he spoke about his time at the club and also shed some light on the functioning of INEOS.
Speaking on how he was appointed, the Italian said: “They made an analysis with data and from the filter appeared some of the names, and I was one of the names. If I’m not wrong, it was in January or if not before.”
“At the end of the season, when they changed coach, I had my first interview with the sporting director Florent Ghisolfi and Dave (Brailsford, director of sport at Ineos).
“It was quite a long interview, like five hours or something. It was a really good introduction and the day after, I had an interview with Jean-Claude Blanc (chief executive of Ineos Sport). I had one more meeting with Florent, the CEO and the president of Nice. A lot of meetings and a lot of hours, but I felt very happy because they gave me the opportunity to express myself. They were very, very prepared about everything and they were really aware of who they had in front of them.”
Farioli also provided a positive feedback of Ratcliffe and his thought process from a sporting perspective. He said: “I met Jim Ratcliffe a few days after (taking the job) because he was very busy,” said Farioli. “But from his side, the first time we met, the feeling he transferred to me, it was really like the feeling of somebody that was really aware of many things. I felt already known before knowing him. It was a really warm welcome.”
Farioli, who is impressing in his time at the club, revealed that the club’s owners have set him a target of finishing inside the top six and there is a regular conversation involving him and the club’s higher-ups.
“I like to listen to the feedback I receive because it’s good to have different perspectives and different input. Afterwards, I have freedom in the decisions on the pitch
“In other things, a bit more for the medium and long term, there is always an open door. We share our opinions and we have periodic, day-by-day or weekly conversations. But also with the club, we have a monthly review of everything with all the parts involved – about the strategy, about the present and also about the future.
“The ambitions of the club are already quite big with the desire to bring the team back in Europe and to be constantly in the European competition. This is the target, to dream big.”
Farioli is known to be one of the brightest young managers in the game and whether he returns to Italy or not remains to be seen, but Nice’s move to hire the 34-year-old is already proving to be a revolutionary move.
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Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
