Man United ‘could be BARRED from playing in Europe next season’… as UEFA ‘refuse to change ownership rules’ in massive blow to part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s position as Manchester United’s head of football operations could have serious consequences if the club qualifies for European football next season.

After months of speculation, the 71-year-old billionaire’s takeover of the club was finally announced via a club statement in December.

Ratcliffe and his INEOS group paid more than £1bn for a 27.7 per cent stake in the club, which will rise to around 30 per cent following a further £238m injection.

Despite not being the majority owner, since the deal was completed in February, Ratcliffe has taken charge of United’s football operations alongside his INEOS colleagues Jean-Claude Blanc and Sir David Brailsford.

The INEOS group also owns Nice, which currently sits fifth in Ligue 1 and is on track to secure European football.

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This is where Ratcliffe’s ownership of United could prove problematic for the Premier League club.

UEFA regulations have stated that while multiple teams under the same ownership may play in Europe in the future, the ban on such teams playing in the same competition remains in place.

A source from the organization confirmed the news to Sun: ‘It is true that Manchester United and Nice cannot play in the same competition.

“They could play in different competitions, since there is no longer ‘feeding’ between competitions.”

Currently, Erik ten Hag’s team is six points behind Tottenham and nine behind Aston Villa in the race for European qualification.

However, the FA Cup remains a viable entry for the club into European competitions, as even if Manchester City were to retain their crown, the extra league space a European place would give them would go to their rivals.

Normally this wouldn’t be a problem. However, if that were to happen while Nice secure a Europa League place by finishing fifth, they would take priority over United, forcing the Premier League club to be relegated to the Conference League.

However, if United manage to triumph in the FA Cup this season, they would have priority and Francesco Farioli’s team would be placed in the Conference League.

Likewise, if both teams manage to qualify for the Champions League this season, the place will be awarded to the team that finishes highest in their respective league.

If both teams finish in the same position domestically, United would still have priority based on England’s place at the top of the UEFA coefficient.

Most dramatically for United fans, there remains a scenario where both United and Nice qualify for the Conference League through their domestic cups, but Nice maintain a higher position in the league.

If this were the case, the French team would get the place and United would be left without European football.