Manchester United 'in danger of being barred from Europe in 2024-25'

The Red Devils are naturally bidding to qualify for the Champions League through their position in the Premier League, with the hope being that a top-five finish will lead to entry for that tournament.

However, despite the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a minority owner and head of football operations being deemed as a huge positive in the grand scheme of things, it has the potential to bring complications with regards to continental action.

That is a consequence of Ratcliffe's INEOS group owning French side Nice, and it had been anticipated that a change to UEFA's rules would allow for more leeway when it comes to teams under the same ownership competing in the same European competition.

Instead, a source has told The Sun that it has been confirmed that United and Nice would not be able to compete against each other away from the domestic scene.

They said: "It is correct that Manchester United and Nice cannot play in the same competition. They could play in different competitions, as there is no 'feeding' between competitions any more."

As it stands, Man United currently sit in sixth position in the Premier League standings and are six points adrift of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with 10 matches remaining.

Meanwhile, Nice occupy fifth spot in the Ligue 1 table and sit three points behind Monaco in third place and four points adrift of Brest in second.

If United do not finish in the top five of the Premier League, a Champions League spot is out of the question, but even qualifying for the Europa League would not be regarded as a foregone conclusion with sixth.

Nice's current fifth place is higher than United's sixth, and therefore would lead to United being prevented from entering the second-tier competition, instead having to go into the Europa Conference League.

That is unless United are able to win the FA Cup, Erik ten Hag's side due to play Coventry City in the semi-finals with the victors playing either Chelsea or Manchester City.

There is also a scenario where United miss out altogether, where both teams qualify for the Europa Conference League but Nice get the position through it coming through a higher finish in their respective top-flight table.

The report adds that the situation involving Man City and Girona - who are both in Champions League qualification spots while under the 'City Football Group' - will be resolved by Girona removing any representation on the ownership's board.