Ratcliffe, who owns Ligue 1 side Nice, bought a controlling share of Manchester United earlier this season. He was expected to bring 24-year-old defender Jean-Clair Todibo to Old Trafford after Todibo established himself as one of Europe's top young defenders.

However, Fabrizio Romano revealed on Wednesday that UEFA rules blocked United from signing Todibo from Nice because both clubs are under Ratcliffe's control. Ratcliffe confirmed this in an interview with Bloomberg, expressing his confusion about the decision.

"They've said we can sell him to another Premiership club, but not to Manchester United," Ratcliffe said. "That's not fair to the player, and I don't see what it achieves."
Ratcliffe's ownership of both Nice and United has raised questions about their ability to compete in the same UEFA competition. Current rules forbid clubs under the same control from competing against each other.

A similar situation occurred in 2017 with Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, both owned by Red Bull. They were investigated but were allowed to play in the same competition after officials linked to Red Bull were removed from Salzburg's board. Since then, Salzburg and Leipzig have competed against each other and completed several transfers, including Dominik Szoboszlai and Benjamin Sesko moving from Austria to Germany.

Manchester City is also facing scrutiny for their pursuit of Brazilian winger Savio, who was signed from Troyes after a loan spell with Girona. Both clubs are owned by the City Football Group.

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