The latest Manchester United news as the team can grab a place in the Champions League next season with a win in the Europa League final against Tottenham.
A general view of the UEFA Champions League Trophy
Manchester United will be hoping to take part in the Champions League next season(Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire.)
Manchester United have a chance to secure a place in the Champions League on Wednesday night, despite sitting in 16th place in the Premier League.
United take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final in Bilbao (8pm kick-off). The winners will not only lift European silverware but will also be awarded a place in the Champions League next season, meaning victory in Bilbao comes with a lucrative prize attached to it as well.
Like United, Spurs have had a disappointing domestic season. Ange Postecoglou’s side sit in 17th place in the table, one place and one point below United.
The Champions League would be a huge boost to either team both financially and in attracting players in the upcoming transfer window. But United could potentially have a problem should they qualify.
French outfit Nice, also currently owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos, secured their spot in the competition through a fourth place finish in Ligue 1. But UEFA rules could potentially see one or both teams prevented from playing in the competition.
Here’s a roundup of the latest ahead of the Europa League final.
UEFA rules
UEFA rules state that no two clubs under the same control could compete in any two European competitions together. They have however since been updated so that the rules only apply to teams in the same tournament.
Given Nice’s qualification for the Champions League, that could present a problem for United should they beat Tottenham.
In a statement, UEFA have said that: "No one is simultaneously involved, directly or indirectly, in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition; and no one has control or decisive influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition."
Therefore there needs to be proof that the two clubs are not run simultaneously.
Man City example
Due to the increasing nature of multi-club ownership models, UEFA now handle the situation on a case-by-case basis.
An example is Manchester City and Girona, who are both owned by the City Group, were allowed to both compete in the Champions League this season. United and Nice were also both allowed to compete in the Europa League in the current season.
This was made possible after shares after investors transferred their shares in Girona FC and OGC Nice to independent trustees through a blind trust structure. This meant effective control and decision-making at these clubs were solely under control of the trustee.
This agreement is due to end on July 1 this year, however, meaning another solution may need to be found. As reported by MEN Sport, United are confident that they will be allowed to compete in the Champions League despite Nice’s qualification for the competition.
Ratcliffe has been talking to UEFA since taking over at United and has been encouraged by the discussions.
What UEFA said
Following its decision in 2024 to allow Man City and Girona FC, as well as Manchester United and OGC Nice to compete in European competition, UEFA released a statement which read: "The First Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB First Chamber) had previously opened proceedings involving: Girona FC (ESP) and Manchester City FC (ENG); and Manchester United FC (ENG) and OGC Nice (FRA) due to a potential conflict with the multi-club ownership rule provided for in Article 5 of the UEFA club competitions regulations.
"Following the implementation of significant changes by the concerned investors in Girona FC and OGC Nice (respectively City Football Group and INEOS), the CFCB First Chamber accepted the admission of Girona FC and Manchester City FC to the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League as well as Manchester United FC and OGC Nice to the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League. The clubs were able to demonstrate that such changes brought them into compliance with the multi-club ownership rule, considering that:
No one is simultaneously involved, directly or indirectly, in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition; and
No one has control or decisive influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition.
"More specifically, the significant changes made to the ownership, governance, and financial support of the concerned clubs, substantially restrict the investors’ influence and decision-making power over more than one club, ensuring compliance with the multi-club ownership rule during the 2024/25 season.
"In particular, the concerned investors have transferred their shares in Girona FC and OGC Nice to independent trustees through a blind trust structure established under the supervision of the CFCB First Chamber. Such blind trust was accepted by the CFCB First Chamber on an exceptional basis for the 2024/25 UEFA competitions. The trustees will regularly exchange information with the CFCB First Chamber during the 2024/25 season.
"As a result, the following applies at the level of Girona FC and OGC Nice for the 2024/25 season:
the effective control and decision-making of these clubs rest solely under control of the trustee;
following the resignation of its board members, the investor is no longer represented on the board of directors and has no capacity to directly appoint new directors to the board;
the trustee appointed the new directors to the board;
the investors have no ability to influence sporting related decisions;
the investors have no ability to influence the club through veto rights or contractual arrangements entered into with other shareholders;
the investors are restricted in their ability to provide subsequent financing;
the club’s financial statements will be deconsolidated from the investors’ holding company.
"Furthermore, as additional evidence of their independence, the concerned clubs committed to the following:
the clubs will not transfer players to each other, whether permanently or on loan, directly or indirectly, from July 2024 until September 2025, with the exception of pre-existing transfer agreements that had been entered into before the opening of the CFCB proceedings;
the clubs will not conclude any kind of cooperation, joint technical or commercial agreements between each other; and
the clubs will not use any joint scouting or player database.
"From 1 July 2025, the shares in Girona FC and OGC Nice will be transferred back to their respective investor. As a result, in the absence of any major modifications to the clubs’ shareholding, governance or financing, the above-mentioned clubs shall be considered, as from that date, under the control or decisive influence of their investor.
"The CFCB First Chamber will continue to monitor the above-mentioned situations to ensure that the multi-club ownership rule continues to be complied with during the 2024/25 season."
What Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said
Speaking on the situation, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has given a clear answer. "No, there are no circumstances upon which an ownership of Nice would prevent Manchester United from playing in the Champions League. I’ll be crystal clear on that," he said.
"It says you have to change the ownership structure, you know. So it’s all about influence and positions on the board and that sort of thing. A: the rules are changing, and B: there are shades of grey not black and white. Manchester City will probably have the problem before we have the problem because they’ve obviously got Girona.
"We have spoken to UEFA and I have to say the conversation wasn’t directed at, 'you have to solve this problem and you know we don’t like it'. We have an issue and we might have to change some things. But what they do recognise is that the multi-club model in many circumstances benefits the smaller club quite a lot.
"They do have a concern that if they stop the multi-club model then you take away quite a lot from the smaller club. Because the smaller club benefits a lot from the bigger club. So that’s a good thing. But what they’re worried about is if there’s ever an accusation that somebody influences the result of a game - lack of integrity. That’s the most concerning thing.
"We’ve never spent time really understanding the benefits of a multi-club. But we’ve got Omar obviously, who’s been intimately involved in a really successful multi-club, which is Manchester City. So we need to spend a bit of time with Omar trying to understand it a bit better before we finish up with a view.
"I think my inclination is positive towards multi-clubs, not negative towards multi-clubs. We haven’t spent enough time understanding all the details of it yet. Also, the UEFA thing is changing so you have to do it in the light of where you think UEFA is going to finish up, what the handicaps are. There are obviously handicaps involved."
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