DEVASTATING NEWS: coming from Fabrizio Romano Manchester United face new troubles in regards to sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover.Nice but grim, Jim. If Manchester United finishes lower in the league than Nice following Ratcliffe’s takeover, they risk being eliminated from the Champions League.
Unsettling news for United supporters who thought Ratcliffe would revive the good times
Nice’s ownership by Sir Jim Ratcliffe may result in Manchester United’s exclusion from Europe the following season.
Ratcliffe’s £1.3 billion acquisition of a 25% share in the Old Trafford team is expected to be officially announced in the coming days.
However, Nice, who are currently only one point behind Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, are already owned by the British billionaire and his Ineos group.
French top division teams will receive three automatic spots and one play-off spot ahead of the expanded Champions League that will take place the following season, with Premier League teams receiving five direct berths.
However, due to Uefa’s regulations regarding “multi-club ownership,” United and Nice can only participate in European competitions in the upcoming season if one wins a spot in the Champions League automatically and the other earns a direct bid to the Conference League.
The team with the higher finish gets to go to the Champions League, while the other team is barred from Europe, provided both teams finish in the spots available in their respective divisions.
Furthermore, should both teams finish in the same spot, Nice will only play domestic football and Erik ten Hag’s sixth-placed Reds will be granted entry into Europe’s premier competition, which carries a potential prize money and television budget of up to £140 million. This is due to England’s top ranking on Uefa’s “access list.”
Even though United would automatically qualify for Uefa’s secondary tournament by finishing sixth or winning the FA Cup, they would also be prohibited from participating if Nice finish fourth, Ligue 1’s Champions League play-off spot. This is because there is a chance that Nice would lose the play-off and go into the Europa League.
If that were to happen, United’s only chances of participating in Europe would be to win the Carabao Cup or place seventh and hope that the Carabao Cup winners advance to Europe, giving the Reds the Conference League spot back.
According to a confirmed Uefa source, “it’s a clear situation as the rules stand.” Nice is owned by Ineos, who will play a significant
“They cannot both participate in European competitions unless one is in the Champions League and the other in the Conference League, unless the regulations are changed or Ineos sells one of their stakes.”
The United Football Group’s Manchester City, which is a neighbour of United, may also be impacted by the FIFA regulations. However, Girona, a Spanish sister club of United that leads Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid in La Liga, is more likely to be affected.
