According to the Telegraph, English clubs are reconsidering their multi-club ownership models amid concerns over UEFA’s strict laws.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest could be expelled from UEFA competitions unless their owners restructure their affiliations with European clubs.
Under UEFA’s ownership rules, clubs under the same control cannot compete in the same European tournament.
This has already led to complications for several English sides, including Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis also controls Olympiacos, Chelsea’s BlueCo consortium owns Strasbourg, and United’s co-owners control Nice.
With all three clubs fighting for European qualification, UEFA’s rules could force difficult decisions on the Premier League trio.
To comply with UEFA regulations, clubs have previously resorted to temporary ownership adjustments.
Ineos placed their stake in Nice into a blind trust last summer when United qualified for the Europa League to comply.
Chelsea and Nottingham Fores may take a similar approach if they qualify for the same European competition as Strasbourg and Olympiacos.
Forest have already removed directors linked to Olympiacos from their board to distance the two clubs administratively.
However, the complexity of UEFA’s rules is deterring other teams from investing in the multi-club model.
Owners are now reconsidering acquiring additional European clubs due to the risk of ineligibility for top competitions.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta suggested the club explore the multi-club model to sign the best young talents in the world.
The Kroenke family already have many sports teams and would no doubt have considered buying another football club, but UEFA is deterring such moves.
The multi-club network is one of the more annoying abnormalities of modern football, where a foreign club is used as a breeding ground for a much bigger team.
For example, Chelsea sent Andrey Santos and Dorde Petrovic to Strasbourg, where they have excelled, but they will return to London this summer, leaving the French club short in key areas.
Similarly, RB Salzburg have played second fiddle to RB Leipzig for years, despite being a much bigger force in their domestic league.
UEFA needs to discourage the multi-club model. Clubs should function as individual entities to avoid conflicts in European competitions.
