Manchester United has had a season to forget, but there’s still a chance for redemption as it has secured a spot in the Europa League final this week.
Their 7-1 aggregate win over Athletic Club means Ruben Amorim’s squad will be returning to Bilbao in just 10 days to face Tottenham, who triumphed 5-1 over Bodo/Glimt across two legs.
Despite their own struggles in domestic competitions this season, Ange Postecoglou’s team has managed to defeat United three times. For Spurs, lifting the trophy would end a 17-year drought, while for United, it could provide a silver lining to an otherwise disappointing season.
It’s worth noting that the victors of the Europa League automatically secure a place in next season’s Champions League, although this might not necessarily apply to United.
Under previous UEFA regulations, two clubs under the same ownership were barred from participating in different European competitions. Given that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has stakes in both Man United and Ligue 1 side Nice, it would have been impossible for both teams to compete in European football.
Despite a 2-0 loss to Rennes on Saturday night, Nice are well-positioned to qualify for Champions League football next season as they currently occupy fourth place in the Ligue 1 standings. However, these rules were revised last year to accommodate the increasing number of clubs under the same ownership.
Currently, UEFA evaluates potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis, which is evident from the acceptance of United and Nice in the Europa League, as well as Manchester City and Girona competing in the same season’s tournament.
United has already encountered issues with Ratcliffe’s ownership of Nice when Jean-Clair Todibo was prevented from transferring to Old Trafford, but there are a couple of reasons for United to remain optimistic that this won’t be a recurring obstacle.
(Image: (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images))
Ratcliffe is considering selling the French club, and should a sale go through before a certain deadline – assuming United clinch the Europa League title and Nice secure a Champions League qualification position – it’s likely there wouldn’t be any complications.
Moreover, UEFA has clarified that the rules aren’t uniformly applied to every scenario. Even if Ratcliffe maintains interests in both clubs, they could still both feature in European competitions.
This was supported by a UEFA statement which noted, “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.”
In essence, what is required is evidence that the clubs operate independently. Ratcliffe’s willingness to offload his stake in Nice might just strengthen their argument should the situation deteriorate.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was firm last year about there being no complications concerning both clubs taking part in European contests simultaneously. “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 declared.
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“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.”
