Qatar is mulling a bid for Premier League club Manchester United but will have to ensure the ownership structure is separate to that of Ligue 1 club Paris Sant-Germain to satisfy Uefa rules. European football’s governing body does not allow two clubs under the same ownership to compete in its competitions.
This makes it most likely that any bid would come through the Qatar Investment Authority rather than Qatar Sports Investments, which owns the French club. QIA owns the Harrods department store in London and has large stakes in London’s Heathrow Airport and the Sainsbury’s UK supermarket chain.
Uefa would have to be satisfied that the two were indeed separate. QIA, Qatar’s principal sovereign wealth fund, is technically a different legal entity to QSI, but both come under the ownership of the state. QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi sits on QIA’s board.