Manchester United face being relegated from the Europa League to the Conference League because Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have “decisive influence” over two clubs in one competition
Manchester United have been told they have until Monday to find a workaround that will allow them and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s other club, Nice, to play in the Europa League next season.
Despite finishing eighth in the Premier League, United have qualified to play in the Europa League in 2024/25 thanks to their 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. The win over City at Wembley on Saturday came as a significant boost for United following a dreadful season in other competitions – but it also presents a problem.
Petrochemicals billionaire Ratcliffe also owns two other clubs – French side Nice and Swiss club Lausanne – and that puts him in contravention of UEFA’s rules. European football’s governing body states that the same owner or entity is not permitted to have “decisive influence” across two or more clubs competing in the same competition.
Nice finished fifth in Ligue 1 this season to secure a place in the Europa League and because they finished higher in their division than United, it is the Red Devils who could be forced to drop into the Europa Conference League, unless a solution is found. The Telegraph reports that United have only been given until Monday to find one, or face the consequences.
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INEOS, who own 27.7 per cent of United and hold sporting control, are in direct talks with UEFA over the issue and have played down the possibility of relegation. “We are aware of the position of both clubs and are in direct dialogue with Uefa,” INEOS said in a statement. “We are confident we have a route forward for next season in Europe.”
Although Ratcliffe is only a minority shareholder on paper at United, he and INEOS have overall sporting control and have already appointed a new chief executive and technical director and are pondering a change of manager – something that clashes with UEFA’s guidance around multi-club ownership. INEOS have been aware of this potential issue for months and it was reported in February that Ratcliffe could be willing to step back from Nice to smooth things over.
It was floated that the 71-year-old could let Nice become a ‘stand-alone’ entity in the INEOS group, thereby separating them from United, who have become the biggest club in the portfolio. Ratcliffe will seek to remove “day-to-day control” at Nice in order to satisfy UEFA.
INEOS and United aren’t the first and won’t be the last club to face this problem, with multi-club ownership becoming more popular in the sport. Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise had to alter its ownership structure last season in order to compete in the Europa League alongside Brighton because owner Tony Bloom was a pivotal figure for both clubs.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa and Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes faced the same scenario in the Europa Conference League. Manchester City will have a similar situation to address this summer, given Girona have qualified for next season’s Champions League and are part of the City Football Group.
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