Manchester United may be barred from Europe next season as a result of UEFA’s adherence to its rule prohibiting clubs owned by the same person from playing against one another.
The 71-year-old billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of the team was revealed via a club statement in December, capping months of conjecture.
Ratcliffe and his INEOS Group invested almost £1 billion for a 27.7% share in the team; once an additional £238 million is invested, that percentage will approach 30%.
Additionally, Nice are owned by the INEOS company. Nice are a French team that are currently in fifth place in Ligue 1 and are headed for European football.
Man United could face problem because of their new owner
UEFA have now officially acknowledged that, despite changes to its regulations, teams owned by the same group are not permitted to participate in the same competition.
When questioned, a UEFA insider confirmed the details to SunSport:
“It is correct that Manchester United and Nice cannot play in the same competition.
“They could play in different competitions, as there is no ‘feeding’ between competitions any more.”
In the current standings for European qualifying, Erik ten Hag’s team are six points behind Tottenham and nine behind Aston Villa.
There is still some hope for Man United
The FA Cup is still a possibility for the team to compete in European tournaments, though, since even if Manchester City win the title, their opponents would get the extra league spot that comes with a European qualification.
Normally, there would be no problem with this. In that case, though, Nice would take precedence over Man United.
However, that would force the Premier League team to slip into the Conference League if they manage to clinch a Europa League position with a fifth-place result.
In contrast, Francesco Farioli’s team would be demoted to the Conference League if United were to win the FA Cup this season.
The team that places better in its respective league will be awarded the spot if both teams qualify for the Champions League this season.
Man United would still get preference because of England’s high ranking in UEFA’s coefficient even if both sides finish in the same place domestically.