Sir Jim Ratcliffe says UEFA multi-club rules ‘unfair’ as Manchester United transfer blocked

Sir Jim Ratcliffe believes UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership are unfair because Manchester United were not allowed to sign a player from Nice.

Athleticism reported on Wednesday that Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo, 24, was considered a potential transfer target by United, but that any move was unlikely due to UEFA rules.

Ligue 1 club Nice are owned by Ratcliffe’s INEOS company, while they and United are currently awaiting a decision on whether they can both play in the Europa League next season.

Article five of the UEFA regulations states that no natural or legal person may exercise “control or influence” over more than one club participating in a UEFA competition, and football’s governing body European must be convinced that United and Nice are separate entities to maintain the integrity of their competition. .

In May, the first chamber of the UEFA club financial control body, Sunil Gulati, stressed that clubs subject to the multi-club ownership tests will not be able to transfer new players between them during the season in which they are in the same competition or immediately during the first transfer window. After.

Ratcliffe, 71, may only be a minority shareholder in United – with his stake eventually expected to rise to 29 per cent – but his £1.3bn investment saw INEOS take control of football operations at Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe did not name the player, but confirmed that United cannot currently buy directly from Nice due to the ownership situation.

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“They said we can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can’t sell him to Manchester United,” Ratcliffe said in an interview with Bloomberg. “But it’s not fair to the player and I don’t see the point.”

In a lengthy interview, Ratcliffe also reiterated that the coaching position was “not a central issue” at the club, with Erik ten Hag remaining in the role while the billionaire pledged to “improve everything” at United, that he aspires to “be where Real Madrid is today”.

Ratcliffe was also highly critical of the proposed financial regulations introduced into the Premier League, saying a government regulator “wouldn’t be good” for the league while adding that the proposed “anchor” – a cap of expenditure linked to the income of the lowest in the division a winning club – would “inhibit” the best teams in England.

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(Daniel LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)