Patrick Vieira has already told Erik ten Hag what to expect from Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Man United

Former OGC Nice manager Patrick Vieira has suggested that Erik ten Hag is likely to be left to his own devices if Sir Jim Ratcliffe successfully secures a stake in Manchester United.

The British billionaire, who is a lifelong United supporter, is looking to secure a 25 per cent stake in the club after main rival Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani pulled out of the takeover race on Saturday. He wanted full control of the club, but his offer was not enough to convince the Glazers into a full sale.

Instead, the Glazers look set to retain full control of the club, with Ratcliffe acquiring a quarter of the overall ownership. He, like Sheikh Jassim, first registered his interest back in February.

Unlike the Qatari banker, Ratcliffe has experience of working in football, plus other sports, and currently owns two football clubs through chemical giant INEOS. They purchased Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport in 2017 and French outfit Nice two years later.

INEOS also purchased the Team Sky cycling team in 2019, meaning it was renamed as Team INEOS. The company also became principal partners of the Mercedes Formula One team in 2020, signing a five-year agreement.

After purchasing Nice in 2019, Ratcliffe sacked Vieira in December 2020, bringing an end to his two-and-a-half-year spell in charge of the Ligue 1 club. Though it was a disappointing ending to the former Arsenal midfielder’s time in charge, he thought highly of Ratcliffe.

Speaking in an interview earlier this year, the Frenchman admitted that the soon-to-be 71-year-old would rarely interfere with his work, suggesting that Ten Hag will be allowed to continue freely in his role without any unnecessary distractions.

Vieira, speaking to FourFourTwo Magazine in April this year, said: “He’d never interfere with my work. We’d talk about football when we met, about the team and our lives, but he’s not an owner who will get involved too much and prevent the manager from doing his job.

“His ambitions and expectations are high, so you know where you stand, but you can do your job freely.”

Though Ten Hag will need clarity and financial support from the Failsworth-born businessman, he will no doubt be keen to retain authority when dealing with the playing staff. The Dutchman has reinstated high standards at Old Trafford, and that cannot risk being disrupted by those upstairs.

Just how much input Ratcliffe will potentially have in the day-to-day running of the club, of course, remains to be seen. But should his plan to secure a minority stake come off, Vieira’s experience of working with him should comfort Ten Hag and give him sound knowledge that his role will not be massively impacted by a significant change at the top of the chain.

Ten Hag deserves to retain in full control of footballing matters, and Ratcliffe’s working methods suggests that he will.