Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe left furious by Liverpool star

Kostas Tsimikas joined AS Roma on loan from Liverpool last month and his performance for the Italian side left Man United cow-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe far from happy

Whenever Liverpool have been squaring off against their arch-rivals Manchester United, there's usually one certainty you can tick off your bingo card.

The sight of legendary United manager Sir Alex Ferguson watching on against a team he battled so fiercely to topple has become a favourite - and frequent - spectacle for TV broadcasters. Indeed the cameras often shift to a downcast Ferguson in the crowd. It wasn't like this in the Scot's day!

Of course, he is not alone. With United's struggles persisting, now over 12 years since Ferguson's retirement and their most recent Premier League title, the club's co-owner and Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe is also often an easy target for the cameras when enduring his club's latest misfortune on the pitch.

But that is not confined to just Old Trafford, with Ratcliffe and INEOS owning multiple clubs across Europe. Consequently, the 72-year-old found himself cursing one Liverpool star this week despite the fact that United were not even playing.

Kostas Tsimikas joined AS Roma on loan from the Reds last month and was given his first start for the club against OGC Nice - one of Ratcliffe and Ineos' other clubs - in the Europa League.

The Greek international wasted no time in making his mark as he provided an assist against the French side, delivering a magnificent cross from the left flank for Gianluca Mancini to fire home what proved to be the decisive goal.

The defender extended Roma's advantage with their second strike in the space of just three minutes. Despite Terem Moffi reducing the deficit late on from the penalty spot, the Italian side managed to secure a 2-1 victory to launch their Europa League campaign in style.

After Tsimikas' delivery for Mancini's goal, television cameras quickly cut to a clearly frustrated Ratcliffe in the stands as the United co-owner watched his second-largest club fall to defeat. Ratcliffe's Ineos group assumed control at Nice in August 2019, but have experienced inconsistent results in France.

Their best league position under his ownership is fourth in Ligue 1, whilst their most impressive European showing came during a journey to the Conference League quarter-finals in 2023/24.

Ratcliffe has faced criticism for seldom attending Nice fixtures previously, though he was clearly present at the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday evening, whilst he also sparked debate by confessing he does not relish French football earlier this year.

"I don't particularly enjoy going to watch Nice because there are some good players, but the level of football is not high enough for me to get excited," he confessed to The Times back in March.

In the meantime, Tsimikas posted a celebratory picture on Instagram after the match, featuring Mancini's goal and emojis in yellow and red, symbolising Roma's home colours. Liverpool fans have recently observed that he has updated his bio on the social media platform to 'Scouser in Rome', indicating his ongoing fondness for his parent club.

Despite being on loan at the Serie A team following Liverpool's acquisition of Milos Kerkez, Roma do not have the option to buy him outright at the end of the season.

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