Manchester United are unlikely to sign Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo this summer due to UEFA rules on multi-club ownership.
United and Nice, the Ligue 1 club owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS, have qualified for the Europa League and are waiting to learn whether they will both be allowed to play in the competition next season.
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UEFA’s regulations do not allow any organisation or individual to have “decisive influence” over the operations of more than one club in the same competition. Ratcliffe also owns a 27.7 per cent stake in United.
Both clubs had until 3 June to supply evidence to UEFA to demonstrate that they satisfy the rules, and are now awaiting the verdict of an independent panel on the matter.
Todibo was under consideration as a potential transfer target by United, who have prioritised the signing of a centre-back this summer following the departure of Raphael Varane.
But the 24-year-old now appears highly unlikely to make the move to Old Trafford in light of UEFA guidance on multi-club ownership issued last month which warned clubs subject to multi-club ownership tests against such deals.
In guidance to clubs on 14 May, chairman of UEFA’s club financial control body first chamber Sunil Gulati outlined four factors that would meet UEFA’s definition of “decisive influence”, one of which was player transfers.
Gulati added that clubs who are currently subject to multi-club ownership tests will not be able to transfer any new players between each other during the season they are in the same competition or during the first transfer window immediately afterwards.
If Ratcliffe and INEOS are ruled to have “decisive influence” over both clubs, United’s eighth-place Premier League finish would mean they drop into the Conference League, as Nice finished in fifth-place in Ligue 1.
Ratcliffe and INEOS have always been confident that they will be able to satisfy UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership, believing precedents set in cases involving AC Milan, Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion last year show compromises are possible.
Manchester City and Girona — both part of the City Football Group (CFG) — were also subjected to UEFA’s multi-club ownership test after both qualified for the Champions League and are awaiting a verdict.
City are hoping to complete the signing of Savio, a 20-year-old winger who spent the season on loan at Girona from Troyes — another CFG-owned club.
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