The Red Devils are naturally bidding to qualify for the Champions League through their position in the Premier League, the hope being that a top-five finish will lead to entry for that tournament.
However, despite the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a minority owner and head of football operations being deemed as a huge positive in the grand scheme of things, it has the potential to bring complications with regards to continental action.
That is a consequence of Ratcliffe's INEOS group owning French side Nice, and it had been anticipated that a change to UEFA's rules would allow for more leeway when it comes to teams under the same ownership competing in the same European competition.
Instead, a source has told The Sun that it has been confirmed that United and Nice would not be able to compete against each other away from the domestic scene.
They said: «It is correct that Manchester United and Nice cannot play in the same competition. They could play in different competitions, as there is no 'feeding' between competitions any more.»
As it stands, Man United currently sit in sixth position in the Premier League standings and are six points adrift of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with 10 matches remaining.
Meanwhile, Nice occupy fifth spot in the Ligue 1 table and sit three points behind Monaco in third place and four points adrift of Brest in second.
If United do not finish in the top five of the Premier League, a Champions League spot is out of the question, but even qualifying for the Europa League would not be regarded as a foregone conclusion with sixth.
Nice's current fifth place is higher than
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