UEFA prepares for rule change amid fears Man Utd and City will miss out on Europe
MANCHESTER rivals United and City will both be allowed to play in Europe next season as UEFA rewrites the rules on multi-club ownership.
Current UEFA regulations state that no individual or entity may have “control or influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA competition”.
Pep Guardiola's team is the figurehead of the City Football Group, which also includes La Liga candidates Girona.
United's recently confirmed co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group also own Nice, which is second in France's Ligue Un.
The current rules are based on defending the 'integrity' of competitions, so that clubs under common ownership cannot manipulate results in favor of one or the other.
But UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis confirmed that Europe's top brass are actively discussing a rule review for next season that would give both City and United the green light whatever happens – and access to more than £100 million in potential prize money.
Theodoridis said: “It is a difficult issue and there are ongoing discussions, with club representatives and also with representatives of the European Club Association.
“We have to decide what to do as we go because there is a change in our competitions.
“There needs to be some clarifications on the rules, because there will now be no feeding between competitions, with clubs able to drop from the Champions League to the Europa League, for example.
“Right now there is an even bigger problem because of the feeding system.
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“So we're trying to look at that and talk to the clubs at the same time.
“We will soon come up with the changes and you will be informed – because we too have to adapt to the post-24 format.”
Under current regulations, United would have to finish higher in the Prem than Nice in France to play in the Champions League, while the French team would then not be allowed to play in any competition.
If they were to finish lower in the Prem, United would only be able to play in Europe if they qualified directly for a specific competition – either through their final league position or by winning the FA Cup.
Even if Girona remains second in Spain – they are five points clear of third-placed Barcelona – City would be assured of participation in the competition next season by retaining the trophy or winning the Prem for a record fourth year in a row .
But the proposed changes – which are expected to be confirmed at the next meeting of UEFA's ruling executive committee in Dublin in May – give United a potential £100m carrot to move into the top four.
And that could even make it available for a fifth-place finish if English teams push deep into Europe and can grab one of the two extra Champions League places in the expanded 36-team competition for the best-performing countries each season.