Sir Jim Ratcliffe is right about UEFA transfer rules but for wrong reason as Manchester United change plans

You can imagine how it would have looked in January if Manchester United had swooped in to sign Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice, while Sir Jim Ratcliffe was waiting on confirmation of becoming a key stakeholder in both clubs.

However it might have looked, it wouldn't have been against the rules. At the moment, deals between clubs in a multi-club ownership arrangement aren't banned unless they are in the same UEFA competition, so even if the governing body had decided the Ineos deal was as good as done, United could have still made their move.

In hindsight, perhaps they should have been a little more ruthless, because there was always a chance that what has occurred this summer would put paid to any chance of a deal happening. As soon as United and Nice ended up in the Europa League, a deal to take Todibo from the Cote d'Azur to Old Trafford was basically off the table.

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To ensure both clubs would be able to play in the same competition, Ineos had to demonstrate a distance between them, with Ratcliffe confirming Nice has been placed in a blind trust. UEFA set a precedent for this last season when it allowed six 'sister' clubs to enter the same European tournament, but told them deals between the clubs and any sharing of data would be barred.

At the moment, UEFA's power around multi-club ownership comes into play when two teams under the same model end up in the same competition. It is why the City Football Group (CFG) have had to demonstrate enough distance to allow Manchester City and Girona to compete in the Champions League.

City are set to sign Savio from a CFG club this summer, with the 20-year-old Brazilian winger impressing in La Liga with Girona last season. But he was only on loan from another CFG side, Troyes, and the permanent deal taking him to the Etihad will be between Troyes and City. With the French side dropping to the third tier last season there is no conflict in the rule book.

Ratcliffe used an interview with Bloomberg to complain about the rules being unfair on the player, but it was common knowledge when he was looking into buying United this could happen. It was also clear for most of the season that the two clubs could have ended up in the same competition, although it was only confirmed when United beat City in the FA Cup final.

“They’ve said we can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can't sell to Manchester United,” Ratcliffe said. “But that's not fair on the player and I don’t see what that achieves.”

You can understand that sense of disappointment when other clubs involved in a similar model will do business this summer. UEFA's rules on multi-club ownership need improving and the fact some clubs are barred from doing deals with each other and some aren't isn't a good position to be in. There is an inherent unfairness in this.

It would have also caused issues had United tried to game the system and made their move in January. Imagine the outcry in Nice if Ineos had sanctioned the sale of one of their best players, to a club their owner was trying to buy, at a time when they still had Champions League qualification in their sights.

Maybe those circumstances made it something of a non-starter and perhaps Ineos hoped there would be a solution this summer. As it is, Todibo might move on but he won't be coming to United.

They have turned their focus to Jarrad Branthwaite, although a second centre-back could also be targeted during the window. That is likely to depend on outgoings, but the chance to sign a right-sided centre-back they admired has now passed them by.