- United are keen to bring in a centre back and had moved to sign Nice’s Todibo
- Ratcliffe has clashed with UEFA over United and Nice playing in Europa League
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: England were ‘abysmal’, ‘stunk the place out,’ and played like a ‘five-a-side team of kids’
INEOS, owned by Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have reportedly hired a lawyer to plead their case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, after UEFA blocked their attempts to sign Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo.
Ratcliffe, who owns the Ligue 1 club and is a minority owner at Old Trafford, running the football operations, had been butting heads with the body over his clubs’ participation in next season’s Europa League.
Multi-club ownership has been a topic that UEFA have been hot on over recent months, and rules state that one owner can’t have two clubs in the same competition.
And now, according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, INEOS are set to mount a legal challenge to the regulation.
He reports that the firm has hired has hired Swiss lawyer Gianpaolo Monteneri to plead before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (pictured) slammed UEFA for blocking United’s move for Jean-Clair Todibo
United are looking to sign a centre back and had looked to bring in Todibo (pictured) from Nice
Multi-club ownership has been a topic that UEFA have been hot on over recent months. Pictured UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (middle)
It is anticipated that Ratcliffe will be given a one-season transition period to decide how he wants to fix the problems, with varying reports emerging on if he will sell Nice or put them into a blind trust.
The British billionaire himself revealed during an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, alongside a brutal review of United, that an attempt to transfer a player from Nice to United had been blocked, with it suspected that the player was defender Jean-Clair Todibo.
‘They’ve said we can sell him to another Premiership club,’ Ratcliffe said. ‘But we can’t sell to Manchester United.
‘But that’s not fair on the player and I don’t see what that achieves.’
United are on the hunt to sign a centre back this summer and have been linked with a move for Todibo, who impressed for Nice in France and has been tipped to join a heavy-hitter in Europe.
The 24-year-old is believed to have featured prominently on United’s shortlist of targets but a deal now appears all but impossible this summer as a result of the UEFA rulebook.
According to Fabrizio Romano, talks between the two clubs over a potential move were at an advanced stage, with it looking the defender would become the first signing since the club decided Erik ten Hag would remain as manager.
Todibo admitted he was open to a Premier League switch and it was expected that United would wrap up the formalities with ease due to Ratcliffe’s Nice connection.
Quizzed on a potential move to Old Trafford this summer, Todibo exclusively told Mail+: ‘It’s nice to hear all the compliments. I’m trying to stay focused on my game and my team-mates – but for sure I am open to playing in the Premier League.
United saw a £43million bid for highly-rated Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite rejected
‘I’m going to keep that for me! Nice try.’
As reported by Mail Sport, United saw a £43million bid for highly-rated Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite rejected.
It is understood United proposed a fixed figure of £35m with a further £8m in add-ons but this was deemed unacceptable by The Toffees.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils are also continuing talks with Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee, who has a £33.7m buy-out clause written into his contract.
