English giants Manchester United are now reportedly at risk of being barred from the UEFA Champions League.
With British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe said to be close to completing his purchase of a 25% stake in United, the new ownership structure could have implications that would see the Red Devils being barred from the UCL next season.
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The English businessman is understood to be purchasing the stake through the petrochemical company he founded, INEOS, but the issue arises from the organisation also owning Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.
Les Aiglons currently occupy second spot on the league table, one point behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, after going 12 games unbeaten, winning seven and drawing five.
If Nice manage to maintain their form throughout the season, they will qualify for next year's UCL, and if United manage a top-four finish in the Premier League, INEOS will have two clubs in the esteemed European competition.
However, Article 5 of UEFA's regulations, which focuses on multi-club ownership, states that: "No club participating in a UEFA club competition may, either directly or indirectly, hold or deal in the securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition."
As the organisation's regulations stipulate, only one club under INEOS' ownership can compete in Europe's premier club competition regardless of whether or not they both qualify, while the other would then essentially be barred from competing.
Article 5.02 states that only the club who finishes the season in a higher position on the league table will then qualify, and if the two teams finish in the same position in their respective leagues, the "club whose association is ranked highest in the access list" would be admitted.
England's association is ranked the highest on UEFA's access list, so, in this case, the Red Devils would play in the UCL ahead of Nice next season.
There is a glimmer of hope for INEOS and the clubs they own, however, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin stating earlier this year that the organisation's current stand on multi-club ownership could change.
"We are not thinking about Manchester United only," Ceferin said on Sky Sports' The Overlap show earlier this year.
"We've had five or six owners of clubs who want to buy another club. We have to see what to do. The options are that it stays like that or that we allow them to play in the same competition.
"I'm not sure yet. We have to speak about these regulations and see what to do about it.
"There is more and more interest in this multi-club ownership. We shouldn't just say no for the investments for multi-club ownership, but we have to see what kind of rules we set in that case because the rules have to be strict.
"From one point of view, it's true if you are the owner of two clubs and they play in the same competition, you can say to one club to lose because you want the other to win.
"But for you, as a football player, do you think it's so easy to do that, to tell a coach, lose the match because the other wants to win?"
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