- Man United could be stripped of European qualification due to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's ownership
- If Erik ten Hag's side qualify for Europe, UEFA's ownership rules will come into effect.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe's position as Manchester United's head of football operations could have serious implications if the club qualify for next season's European football.
After months of speculation, the purchase of the club by the 71-year-old billionaire was finally announced via a club statement in December.
Mr Ratcliffe and his INEOS group paid more than £1bn for a 27.7% stake in the club, but an injection of a further £238m will see that stake rise to nearly 30%.
Despite not being majority owner, Ratcliffe has taken over United's football operations alongside his INEOS colleagues Jean-Claude Blanc and Sir David Brailsford since the deal was completed in February. is.
INEOS Group also owns Nice, with the French team currently sitting fifth in Ligue 1 and on track to secure European football.
This is where Ratcliffe's ownership of United could pose a problem for the Premier League club.
UEFA rules mean that teams under the same ownership can still play in Europe, but they are still prohibited from playing in the same competition.
A source from the club confirmed the news to The Sun: “It is right that Manchester United and Nice cannot play in the same competition.”
“They can play in different competitions because there is no longer a 'feed' between competitions. ”
Erik ten Hag's side currently sit six points behind Tottenham and nine points behind Aston Villa in the race for European qualification.
However, even if Manchester City retained the crown, the FA Cup would still be the club's favorite place to qualify for European competition, as the extra league spots awarded with European qualification would go to their rivals. do not have.
Usually this is not a problem. However, if that happens while Nice are fifth and secure a spot in the Europa League, they will be given priority over United and the Premier League club will be forced to drop into the Conference League. .
However, if United win the FA Cup this season, they will be given priority and Francesco Faglioli's side will be in the Conference League instead.
Similarly, if both teams qualify for the Champions League this season, spots will be allocated to the teams that finish top in their respective leagues.
Even if both teams finish in the same domestic position, United will be given priority based on England's top spot in the UEFA coefficient.
Most dramatically for United fans, the scenario remains that United and Nice both qualify for the Conference League through domestic cup competitions, but that Nice remain top of the league.
If this were to be the case, it would mean United would not be playing European football and the French side would qualify.
