Red Devils might be banned from Europe next season because of Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Premier League giants, Manchester United, could be banned from appearing in the Champions League for the 2024/2025 season if some of their shares are bought by Britain's one of richest businessmen, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Since last month, rumours have emerged that the 71-year-old business tycoon is the most serious potential buyer of Man Utd shares after the withdrawal of Qatari billionaire Sheikh Jassim from the stock exchange.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is willing to pay £1.3 billion to buy 25% of Manchester United shares from the Glazer Family. This agreement will reportedly be formalized in the next few days. Even though it has many positive aspects, Ratcliffe's acquisition of shares could also be a disaster for MU. Ratcliffe's entry into Manchester United could cause problems because Ratcliffe and his Ineos company previously owned a majority stake in the French Ligue 1 club, Nice.

Nice is currently ranked second in the Ligue 1 standings, only one point behind PSG at the top. Nice also has a big chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season. So, if that becomes a reality, while MU manages to finish in the top four of the Premier League standings this season, then that problem will arise. UEFA rule article 5.02 states that two teams belonging to the same party cannot meet each other in the same competition. This could happen to Nice and MU next season.

“By applicable regulations, this is a clear situation. Ineos owns Nice and will have an important role in running United," a UEFA source told The Sun. “Unless the regulations are changed, or Ineos sells one of its shares, neither can play in European competitions, except for one in the Champions League and the other in the Conference League.” added the source.

Apart from Manchester United, another English team that could also be affected by UEFA's regulations is Manchester City, which is currently still at the top of the Premier League standings. Man City is currently managed by the City Football Group football consortium. This consortium also owns the La Liga club, Girona. Interestingly, currently, Girona is also at the top of the standings. However, if problems finally arise next season, Girona will likely be banned from appearing in the Champions League, not Manchester City.