Club captain takes dig at INEOS ownership

Nice, France – Veteran defender and club captain Dante has publicly questioned the broader accountability at OGC Nice, hinting that responsibility for the team’s troubled Ligue 1 campaign stretches well beyond the dressing room. Speaking after a bruising 4-0 defeat that intensified the club’s relegation fears, the 40-year-old centre-back told Get French Football News:

“This season has been difficult. We have to take responsibility now, but there are lots of people to blame for it. There are some who are still here, some who have left, some who are very far away.”

The carefully chosen phrasing has been interpreted by supporters and local media as a veiled critique of the club’s hierarchy, including long-term custodians INEOS, the multinational group headed by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe. INEOS has overseen sweeping structural changes at the Allianz Riviera since acquiring the club, but results have nosedived this term, prompting fan protests and even a confrontation between players and angry supporters at the training ground earlier in the season.

Nice’s woes have been compounded by managerial turnover, a raft of January departures and a string of heavy defeats that have left the side hovering above the relegation places. Dante, who is expected to retire when the campaign concludes, insisted he will push his body “to the limit” to help secure survival, but acknowledged the squad is operating under the cloud of uncertainty emanating from above.

The defender’s comments come at a time when INEOS is also under fire across the Channel at Manchester United, where Ratcliffe’s recent political remarks and unpopular decisions have triggered supporter unrest. With Nice’s season hanging in the balance, the club captain’s decision to spotlight off-pitch culpability has reignited debate over whether the INEOS model is delivering for either of its flagship football projects.