⚽️ How Clubs Get Past UEFA Rules to Play in the Same European Competition

Such is the nature of building this platform, that I have to think about videos several months ahead. At the moment I don’t speak on US Sports but soon that will change in 2026.

Every now-and-then I do a business breakdown of a prominent athlete. Anthony Joshua, David Beckham, Lewis Hamilton are just three of the names I have done so far. I start this week with a simple question. Which US based athlete would you like to see a business breakdown on:

If the person you would love isn’t in this list, please respond via email with who you’d like instead. My mind is already in 2026 and next year, we start talking US Sports!

Today, we discuss football…

My latest YouTube video is called “The Pitfalls of Multi-club Ownership”.

Following the video my intended plan was to give newsletter readers an extra layer of detail on how some clubs have managed to circumvent the rules that are supposed to stop two teams under the same ownership playing in the same competition.

But then the NBA scandal involving Kawhi Leonard broke so I had to change course.

This week, you’re getting that information.

Despite UEFA’s Article 5, which bans two clubs under the same “decisive influence” from competing in the same European competition, several high-profile cases have slipped through. Three stand out:

1. Manchester United and Nice

2. Manchester City and Girona

3. RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg

INEOS owns Nice outright and now control “football operations” at Manchester United. UEFA could have blocked both clubs from Europe. Instead, they accepted a workaround. INEOS placed its Nice shares into a blind trust for the season. This trust was run by a group of independent trustees. On paper, this created enough separation in the eyes of UEFA as Nice were no longer “controlled: by INEOS. It was enough to get past the rules and both clubs played in the Europa League in the same season.

In reality, the same group bankrolled both.

City Football Group owns 47% of Girona, alongside a consortium of investors. That is technically a minority stake but CFG convinced UEFA that governance was separate, boards were distinct, and there was again no “decisive influence”. Both clubs were cleared for the 2024/25 Champions League, even though Girona’s breakout season featured multiple CFG-connected players, including Yan Couto who was on loan from Man City(!) Questions from other clubs were swatted away.

The craziest one is the two Red Bull sides. When both qualified for the Champions League in 2017, UEFA launched an investigation. Red Bull responded by transferring official shares in Salzburg to local figures and tweaking the governance structure. They went a step further by changing the branding too. Salzburg were given slightly different logos and a new kit in an attempt to show separation. UEFA concluded Red Bull still had influence at both clubs, but not “decisive” influence, and cleared them to compete together. Leipzig are now Champions League regulars.

In my video I referred to the term “Decisive Influence” alot. That phrase is extremely subjective. In all of these examples UEFA deemed the changes made were enough to show a lack of decisive influence for each club. However in the case of Crystal Palace recently… there was too much decisive influence for John Textor.

Can you imagine that Strasbourg make it to the same competition as Chelsea next season! If that happens, carnage will ensue.

Before we leave, another question for you all.

Would you like to be a part of the Saudi Series? (Yes, the above picture is the Thumbnail for Episode 1!)The episodes are written and recorded, the only thing missing are on the ground interviews from people like you.

If you live in Saudi Arabia and love sport or you work in a sporting capacity and have been exposed to the Saudi sporting regime I would love to speak to you. If you are willing to play a part in the series then please book a slot HERE, you’ll arrange a time to speak directly with me in a recorded digital interview.

The conversations may or may not be included in the final episode but by taking part you’re giving consent for potential inclusion.

I’m so hyped for you to see some of this stuff. I don’t see many platforms out there covering any of this content.

See you next week.