UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) has cleared Manchester City and Manchester United to take part in European competitions next season.
Doubts had been raised after both Manchester City and Girona, both La Liga sides that are part of the City Football Group, qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United, meanwhile, earned a place in the Europa League by winning the FA Cup alongside Nice, the Ligue 1 club also controlled by Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS group.
Having two clubs under the same ownership enter a European competition creates a potential conflict with UEFA's multi-club ownership rules, and changes had to be made at board level for all four clubs to be admitted.
UEFA confirmed on Friday that there had been “significant changes to the ownership, governance and financial support of the clubs in question” that would “substantially restrict the influence and decision-making power of investors”.
The shares held in Girona and Nice have been transferred to independent trustees “through a blind trust structure established under the supervision of the CFCB”.
The move will apply only to the 2024-25 season, after which the shares will be transferred back to City Football Group and INEOS.
Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7% stake in United in February, while INEOS, the chemicals company he founded and now runs as CEO, bought Nice in 2019.
A source has told ESPN that UEFA have already blocked United from attempting to sign Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo.
“They said we can sell him to another Premier League club,” Ratcliffe said in an interview last month.
“But we can't sell him to Manchester United. It's not fair to the player and I don't see what we can achieve by doing that.”
UEFA said on Friday that United and 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. It also rules out any player movement between the clubs in the 2025 summer transfer window.
However, a source told ESPN that City are expected to sign Sávio this summer.
The winger was on loan at Girona last season but the deal will be done with parent club Troyes, who have failed to qualify for the Champions League.
