Manchester Clubs set to play alongside sister teams in UCL 2024/25

The UEFA Champions League will be having a newer format from the 2024/25 season. There will be 36 teams participating instead of 32 and the top 8 will earn direct qualification to the knockout rounds from 9-24 they will play each other to qualify for the knockouts and the club below that will not be demoted to UEFA Europa League and will be knocked out of the league group stage. 

Manchester United and Manchester City have sister clubs that are playing in the domestic format of the European competition. The INEOS group managed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe owns a share of two clubs OGC Nice in Ligue 1 and also the Red Devils, for the forthcoming season, both clubs have qualified for the UEFA Europa League. On the other hand City Football Group owns Girona FC which plays in La Liga, and Manchester City as well, as the latter two clubs have qualified for the UCL. 

Previously there was a rule of UEFA that it does not allow two clubs to participate with similar ownership and it needs to sell their stakes in order to participate in the tournament. But UEFA's Club Financial Control Board (CFCB) will be holding a meeting to resolve the issue of a ruling on multi-club ownership issues on Monday for the two Manchester clubs and others involved in European competition.

UEFA set to approve two clubs' participation 

As things stand CFCB is set to approve Manchester clubs playing alongside their sister clubs, subject to certain terms and conditions. However, the clubs will be informed that the 2024-25 season will be seen as a transitional one, there will not be as much leeway given in future seasons. The CFCB is expected to rule that Girona and Nice should be administered under a "blind trust" by a panel certified by Uefa. This season, that approach was applied in a deal involving AC Milan, Toulouse, and their American investor, Red Bird Capital.

Previously, according to Article 5 of UEFA's Champions League regulations: "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, be a member of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition, be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition, or have any power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition."