What happens when the Qatar group simultaneously own Man Utd and PSG and both can play in the Champions League?

MANCHESTER UNITED could join Paris Saint-Germain under the umbrella of a Qatari investment group – but that could lead to some unintended consequences.

The Glazers announced in November that they were ready to listen to suitable offers for a stake in the Premier League giants.

1

But since then, reports have suggested that United’s owners are now more interested in a FULL takeover bid.

And it seems like the latest interest has come from a Qatari group who could make a tempting offer in the next few days.

However, the same group owning two clubs in European competition can cause a small problem.

What happens if Qatar own Man Utd and PSG at the same time?

There are no restrictions on the simultaneous purchase of multiple clubs in different countries by one owner.

That means the reported Qatari group preparing a bid for Manchester United would have no problem with it even if they were indistinguishable from the one in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.

However, certain leagues have different rules that restrict potential club buyers.

An example of this is the Premier League, which has restricted ownership of a second club in the division to 10%.

Can both teams play in the Champions League?

UEFA introduced a rule “UEFA club competitions integrity: club independence” in 1998, stating that no two clubs participating in a UEFA competition may be directly or indirectly controlled by the same ownership group.

This is defined by:

• The majority of the voting rights held by the shareholders of another club in the same UEFA club competition;
• or any other right to appoint or remove the majority of directors of another club in the same UEFA club competition;
• And a majority of shareholders’ voting rights (through a shareholders’ agreement) at another club in the same UEFA club competition.

So if a Qatari group were to own United while they and PSG qualify for the Champions League, the owning group would most likely have to decide who plays in it.

These rules were put in place to protect the integrity of the competition.