Manchester United might not get to play in the Europa League next season, even though they won against Manchester City in the FA Cup recently.
The 2-1 win at Wembley guaranteed a spot in the European tournament for Erik Ten Hag’s squad.
However, United’s position in the Europa League is at risk because of UEFA’s rules about clubs having multiple owners. This could lead to them being blocked from competing in the tournament.
UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership prevent two teams owned by the same organization from playing in the same competition.
Both Manchester United and Nice are owned by INEOS. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company fully owns Nice and has a partial stake in Manchester United.
INEOS currently owns 27 percent of United but intends to increase its investment by £245 million, raising its ownership to over 30 percent.
Manchester United announced on Christmas Eve 2023 that it has reached a deal for INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe to acquire up to a 25% share of the club.
This deal would put INEOS in violation of UEFA’s rules since they are the sole owners of Nice, which finished fifth in Ligue 1 and earned a Europa League spot.
Nice’s fifth-place finish in the French league secured them a place in next season’s Europa League.
Get instant and latest news updates via Our WhatsApp Community or Google News online channel.