Manchester United and Manchester City qualify for European participation next season

Manchester City and Manchester United have been given the green light to compete in European competitions next season by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body.

Doubts were raised after Manchester City and Girona, both part of the City Football Group, qualified for the Champions League. Meanwhile, Manchester United secured a Europa League spot by winning the FA Cup with Nice, a Ligue 1 club also controlled by Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group.

Having two clubs under the same ownership in a single European competition creates a potential conflict with UEFA’s multiple club ownership rules, and changes had to be made at board level for all four clubs to be accepted.

UEFA confirmed on Friday that “significant changes have been made to the ownership, governance and financial support of the clubs concerned” which will “significantly restrict the influence and decision-making power of investors”.

The shares held in Girona and Nice were transferred to independent trustees “through a blind trust structure set up under the supervision of the CFCB”.

This move only applies to the 2024-25 season, after which the shares will transfer back to City Football Group and INEOS.

Ratcliffe took a 27.7% stake in United in February, while INEOS, the chemicals company he founded and now runs as chief executive, bought Nice in 2019.

A source told ESPN that United have already been blocked by UEFA in their attempts to sign Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo.

“They said we could sell him to another Premier League club,” Ratcliffe said in an interview last month.

“But we can’t sell him to Manchester United. But that’s not fair to the player and I don’t see any point in that.”

UEFA said on Friday that United and Manchester City have agreed not to transfer players to or from their sister clubs Nice and Girona respectively until September 2025, meaning Todibo cannot join United. The body also rules out any player transfers between the two clubs during the 2025 summer transfer window.

However, a source told ESPN that Manchester City are expected to sign Savio this summer.

The winger was on loan at Girona last season but the deal will be made with his parent club Troyes, who did not qualify for the Champions League.