Nice on FM26 - The Riviera in Reconstruction
Jim Ratcliffe is selling, Claude Puel arrives (December 2025), OGC Nice is in full TRANSITION. The Allianz Riviera, 35,000 seats inaugurated in 2013, replaced the legendary Stade du Ray. 2025 was disappointing. 2026 must be the revival. The Côte d'Azur deserves BETTER.
Why choose Nice?
Because OGC Nice is THE MOST AMBITIOUS RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN LIGUE 1. INEOS — Jim Ratcliffe's group, the richest man in the UK — bought the club in 2019 and applied the same method as its other sports properties: data, smart recruitment, world-class structures. Four historic French championship titles (1951, 1952, 1956, 1959), a brand new 35,624-seat Allianz Riviera inaugurated in 2013, and the Côte d'Azur as a training ground. The 2024-25 season ended in 4th place, qualifying for the Champions League. In 2025-26, Claude Puel takes charge at the end of December 2025. Nice is a club in FULL CONSTRUCTION with serious resources and a clear project. In FM26, you have the Mediterranean, INEOS and significant room for growth.
The INEOS era
Since August 2019, the club belongs to INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe's group, Britain's richest man. But in 2025, the club is PUT UP FOR SALE, handled by Lazard. Who will be the next owner? Meanwhile, you have the keys to a project in transition - with the advantages that brings.
Tactics: INEOS's clean, structured football
INEOS imposes a philosophy across all its clubs: rigorous organisation, analytical data, and structured football that values possession and organised transitions. Nice generally plays a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with clean play from the back. The Allianz Riviera offers a genuine climatic advantage — visiting teams suffer in the heat late in the season. In FM26, exploit INEOS resources: a significant recruitment budget compared to mid-table sides and the ability to attract quality players. Build on a fluid 4-3-3 with a technical midfield capable of controlling the tempo.
Objectives: stabilization first
After a disappointing 2025, Nice must stabilize. Mid-table minimum, building a coherent project, then aiming for Europe. The potential is there - it just needs to be revealed.
Nice is the TRANSITION challenge. A club in mutation, a magnificent stadium, a dream region. Want to build something new under the Riviera sun? The Allianz awaits. ALLEZ NICE!