Jim Ratcliffe flies from Nice to London the day his OGC Nice sale collapses

Jim Ratcliffe flew from Nice to Farnborough on Friday morning, his Gulfstream G650 M-OVIE covering the 1 hour 27 minute hop at 38,000 feet. The trip came the same day news broke that Ratcliffe's attempt to sell Ligue 1 side OGC Nice had fallen apart at the last minute.

Per the Manchester Evening News and the Mirror, an American consortium had been in advanced talks to buy the club, even visiting Nice's training ground, but failed to provide the required financial guarantees and sporting stability commitments by Ratcliffe's June 15 deadline. The collapse is the latest setback for the INEOS chief, who has publicly admitted he derives little enjoyment from watching Nice and had already lowered his asking price to facilitate a sale.

Ratcliffe's recent flight pattern shows he was in Nice on June 15 before shuttling to Belgium and Switzerland earlier in the week. Friday's dash to Farnborough—the gateway to London and the UK—suggests a pivot back to his other sporting interests, including Manchester United, where the summer transfer window is reportedly moving forward with an agreement to sign Atalanta's Ederson.