The strategy of the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to try to purchase Manchester United while also owning Paris Saint-Germain will be to demonstrate to Uefa that each club will be controlled by a separate entity. Buying a minority stake in United is not currently of interest, it is understood.
Uefa rules do not allow clubs that can meet in the same competition, such as the Champions League, to have the same owner. Those driving the Qatar interest are conscious of this and a solution is being sought. The current one would be to demonstrate to Uefa that United would not be administered by the same structure and personnel as PSG.
There is some confidence that this would be accepted, particularly as there is a precedent in Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, where the ultimate proprietor is Red Bull GmbH. In September 2018 the Austrian and German clubs faced each other in the Europa League.
Nasser al-Khelaifi, the PSG president and chairman of their owner, Qatar Sports Investments, is a powerful figure within Uefa. The 49-year-old is chairman of the European Club Association, which is the collective of 220 clubs, and has considerable leverage in driving policy within the governing body. When the proposed European Super League became public in April 2021, Khelaifi stood with Uefa by refusing to take PSG into the proposed competition.
