After Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his acquisition of a stake in Manchester United, the club he supported as a child, it was initially expected to become the crown jewel in INEOS's sports portfolio. However, the INEOS sports empire is now showing signs of strain, with several investments struggling and only one business thriving. The Sun's sports section has reviewed the current status of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's various sports assets.
Manchester United
In early 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 27% stake in Manchester United for £1.3 billion and took control of the club's day-to-day operations. He outlined an ambitious long-term plan for the club's future.
At the time, speaking at INEOS's Knightsbridge headquarters, Sir Jim Ratcliffe stated that fans would not want to wait for a ten-year plan. He emphasized that Manchester United could not match the competitive level that Manchester City achieved last season overnight, but the club must develop a three-year improvement plan to demonstrate progress to stakeholders.
However, two and a half years later, despite Manchester United's return to the Champions League, the club has cycled through three permanent managers and two interim caretakers—Ruud van Nistelrooy and Darren Fletcher. Current manager Michael Carrick's position is equally precarious, with potential departures looming during the international break.
The team's poor form has increasingly disappointed and angered fans, with Manchester United suffering their worst league start in 40 years. Controversial ticketing policies have also sparked significant backlash, with protests escalating from social media to the streets.
Just 7 points from the opening 8 Premier League matches, an early exit from the League Cup, and a recent heavy defeat to newly promoted Como have intensified scrutiny of the club's management and direction.
FC Lausanne-Sport
In 2017, FC Lausanne-Sport became INEOS's first football club acquisition. At the time, INEOS committed to investing in local youth development and community sports.
Now, INEOS is considering selling the Swiss club and has circulated sales prospectuses to potential buyers.
Since the acquisition, FC Lausanne-Sport's performance has been disappointing. The team was relegated less than six months after INEOS took over. Despite moving to a new 13,000-capacity stadium, the club has since fluctuated between promotion and relegation.
In the 2024-25 season, FC Lausanne-Sport qualified for European competition for the first time, but was eliminated in the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League, losing to Czech side Sigma Olomouc on aggregate.
Last season, the team narrowly avoided relegation from the bottom six, and this season has been even more difficult, with just 1 win and 3 draws in 11 matches, leaving them bottom of the table.
Nice
Last season, fan discontent with INEOS's management of Nice reached a breaking point. The team suffered eight consecutive defeats, and escalating tensions between supporters and the club included player assaults and the temporary closure of the Allianz Riviera stadium by French authorities.
Former Chelsea winger Jérémie Boga was among the players attacked and subsequently transferred to Juventus.
Last December, Claude Puel, the former Southampton and Leicester City manager, was appointed to stabilize the club. He led Nice to safety, finishing 8 points above the relegation zone, but his tenure ended after the season.
Puel was succeeded by Olivier Pantaloni, who played as a youth forward for Nice 40 years ago and is now gradually reviving the club's fortunes. Nice has won 3 of their last 4 matches, climbing from the relegation zone to 10th place.
However, INEOS's exit strategy has stalled. Two years ago, INEOS sought approximately £210 million for the club but found no buyers. The asking price has since dropped to close to £125 million, though French financial analysts believe the club's actual value may be less than 40% of this figure, given the struggling French Ligue 1 television rights market.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
In sharp contrast to its football portfolio, INEOS's Mercedes F1 team remains highly competitive.
The Brackley-based team has performed exceptionally this season, with young Italian driver Kimi Antonelli winning 9 of 18 races and leading the championship charge toward his first F1 World Championship. Teammate George Russell is his closest rival, having achieved three podium finishes.
INEOS became a principal partner of Mercedes through a five-year, £100 million deal signed in 2020 and acquired a one-third stake in the team that year.
Despite the challenging transition following Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari in 2025, INEOS's stake is now valued at £1.52 billion.
Earlier speculation that Sir Jim Ratcliffe intended to exit the partnership proved unfounded. INEOS continues to back team principal Toto Wolff and is now enjoying substantial returns on the investment.
NETCOMPANY-INEOS Cycling Team
Formerly known as Team INEOS Grenadiers, and before that Team Sky, the cycling team officially rebranded in April with new kit and secured a five-year, £87 million co-title sponsorship deal.
However, the team's current performance is far removed from its previous dominance.
This season, the team recorded only one stage victory across the three Grand Tours: the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España.
The team's last Grand Tour victory came in 2021, when Colombian rider Egan Bernal won the Giro d'Italia overall classification.
Despite recent struggles, the team remains optimistic. Former Tour de France champion and team director Geraint Thomas has stated that the team is not far from returning to winning ways.
INEOS Britannia
The collaboration between INEOS and British sailing legend Sir Ben Ainslie has collapsed, with their dispute over the America's Cup remaining unresolved.
INEOS had hoped to secure Great Britain's first-ever America's Cup victory, but in the 2024 competition, Ainslie's team, led by Olympic gold medalist Dylan Fletcher, was defeated by New Zealand.
INEOS initially announced a third challenge without Ainslie's involvement but ultimately withdrew from competition last year.
This led to a legal dispute when Ainslie and his GB1/Athena Racing team, backed by Oakley Capital, sought to continue using the AC75 race boat from the 2024 campaign.
Proceedings continue in the High Court. Ainslie's settlement offer last month was rejected by INEOS's legal team, who maintain that INEOS owns all assets from the 2024 America's Cup project, including the race boat currently controlled by Team Athena.
New Zealand All Blacks
In 2021, INEOS announced a partnership with the New Zealand national rugby union team, the All Blacks, committing to a six-year sponsorship worth £24 million.
In February 2025, New Zealand Rugby filed a lawsuit alleging contract breach, claiming INEOS failed to pay the first sponsorship installment for 2025 and has withdrawn from the agreement.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe attributed the withdrawal to the challenging operating environment in the global chemical industry and criticized the New Zealand Rugby Union for unwillingness to negotiate a compromise.
INEOS 1:59 Challenge
INEOS also funded an ambitious marathon initiative aimed at pushing humanity to break the two-hour barrier for the first time.
In 2019, Kenyan distance runner Eliud Kipchoge completed the challenge in Vienna, finishing in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 40.2 seconds.
However, because the attempt used multiple rotating pacemakers and was not an open competition, the time was not ratified as an official world record.
Kenyan runner Sebastian Sawe subsequently ran 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds at the 2024 London Marathon, becoming the first athlete to break the two-hour barrier in an officially recognized marathon.