Manchester City and Manchester United have been allowed to take their places in European competition next season after disputes over the ownership of several clubs with Girona and Nice respectively were resolved.
However, United will be blocked from signing Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo by UEFA.
City Football Group owns City and Girona, while Ineos controls the football operations of United and Nice, and UEFA does not allow clubs with the same ownership to be involved in the same competition.
The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), the body that oversees European football, said on Friday that “significant changes” had been made in Girona and Nice, which would “substantially restrict the influence and decision-making power of investors.” .
Furthermore, the shares were transferred through independent administrators to a blind trust, which will be supervised by the CFCB.
Among the additional guarantees given by City Football Group and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group to prove the independence of their respective clubs, they agreed not to transfer players “permanently or on loan, directly or indirectly, from July 2024 to September 2025”. .
It means United will not be able to sign Frenchman Todibo, the £40m-rated defender who Ratcliffe had hoped would switch clubs.
However, City’s pursuit of Brazilian winger Sávio will not be affected as he has returned to parent club Troyes, who are also part of the City Football Group, after his loan at Girona expired on 30 June.
A CFG source told BBC Sport that City and Girona have complied with all of the CFCB’s requests.
Ineos said in a statement: “We are pleased with the positive decision from the First Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body, which will see Manchester United play in the Europa League next season. Manchester United’s focus is on next season and the performance on the field.”
City will be playing their 14th successive Champions League campaign, but Girona qualified for the first time by finishing third in La Liga, their best league position.
Nice also looked set to qualify for Europe’s most prestigious club competition for a long time last season, but ended up finishing fifth in Ligue 1. Manchester United qualified for the Europa League by beating reigning champions City Premier League, in the FA Cup final.
It remains to be seen how the matter will be handled in the long term, as the shares are expected to be transferred in July 2025.
At that point, the CFCB states that clubs will be considered “under the control or decisive influence of their investor”.
