Manchester United may yet miss out on the Europa League?
27 May 2024
Manchester United is facing an administrative crisis that threatens to exclude the team from the European Football League next season. Man United booked its place in the Europa League after winning the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory over City in the final match last Saturday.
Before that, United lost all the qualifying cards for the European Championships, ending the season in eighth place in the Premier League table.
The newspaper "L'Equipe" explained the features of the problem facing United, as the "Ineos" investment group owns 27% of the English club's shares, and its owner, Jim Ratcliffe, plans to inject new investments worth 227 million euros.
These investments will raise the percentage of “Ineos” share to more than 30%, which exceeds the minimum permitted by UEFA regulations, for entities that own more than one club participating in one tournament.
It was stated that Ineos also owns a share of the shares of Nice Club, which also announced its participation in the Europa League after occupying fifth place in the French League table.
L'Equipe indicated: "Nice may participate in the Europa League at the expense of United, which will be relegated to the Conference League competition, on the basis that the French team achieved a better position in the league."
She also pointed out that United's victory in the FA Cup might give it the advantage to remain in the European League, and Nice would end up being relegated to the Conference League.
For his part, Nice club president Jean-Pierre Rivier commented: “Administrative adjustments must be made. I will not go into more detail than that, but it does not represent a problem.”