UEFA issues verdict on ownership of multiple clubs, including Manchester United and Man City

Manchester United will be able to play in Europe next season after UEFA ruled there had been an ownership change at sister club Nice, while Manchester City and Girona will be able to play in the Champions League.

UEFA had been investigating both Manchester clubs due to concerns over multi-club ownership, but investors from Girona and Nice placed their shares in a blind trust for this season.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was already the owner of Nice before he took a 27.7 per cent stake in United and control of the footballing affairs. However, when Erik ten Hag’s team won the FA Cup, they qualified for the Europa League, which the French club entered after finishing fifth in Ligue 1.

Under UEFA’s multiple-club ownership rules, if only one club is allowed to compete in European club competitions, it will be the club with the highest position in its domestic league. In the Premier League, United were only eighth.

City, meanwhile, won their fourth consecutive Premier League title but Girona, 47 per cent owned by City Football Group, qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history by finishing third in LaLiga.

Earlier this week, three Girona directors with links to City Football Group – John MacBeath, Simon Cliff and Ingo Bank – resigned and were replaced by three others, Matthew Shale, Edward Gall and Paul Ganston, who do not have such an obvious conflict of interest.

Both Manchester clubs were able to convince UEFA that they would not be in breach of Article 5 of the regulations, which requires that “no person shall be involved, directly or indirectly, in any capacity in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in UEFA club competitions at any time; no person shall exercise control or decisive influence over more than one club participating in UEFA club competitions”.

UEFA found that there had been “significant changes… to the ownership, management and financial support of the clubs concerned, which significantly reduced the influence of investors and their decision-making powers in relation to more than one club”.

Under the UEFA ruling, investors in Nice and Girona – Ratcliffe and CFG – will not be able to appoint directors or influence sporting decisions while the shares are in blind trust. They will revert to the owners in July 2025.

UEFA also ruled that jointly owned clubs will not be allowed to buy, sell or loan players to each other outside of their existing contracts this season. That means United cannot sign Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo.

Clubs are also prohibited from using shared scouting networks or entering into commercial arrangements with each other. UEFA said it would monitor any such cases this season to ensure individual clubs were complying with the rules.