Manchester United could be banned from signing Kylian Mbappe due to UEFA's transfer rule

Manchester United could be prevented from signing Kylian Mbappé due to a specific rule put in place by UEFA.

Mbappé has one again been linked with a move from Paris Saint-Germain after confirming that he had no plans to extend his contract at the French champions.

The forward’s contract is up at the end of the season, leaving several clubs such as Real Madrid, Arsenal and United all interested in securing the big-name signature.

United have been in the news heavily in recent weeks as everybody awaits a further update on the ongoing takeover saga.

After putting the club on the market in November, the Glazer family have yet to provide any update on what stage the process is at and who is in contention.

Reports have claimed that British billionaire and INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani are the front-runners.

Sheikh Jassim is rumored to be the one most likely to complete a deal, but if reports are accurate and he is successful, it would mean a swift end to any pursuit of the World Cup winner and any of his PSG teammates.

As part of a UEFA ruling, the governing body ban teams who work under the same ownership from transferring players to one another.

If United were able to prove that they were independent from PSG’s Qatari owners, then the ban would be lifted.

AC Milan and Toulouse are currently banned from selling and loaning players to each other as they are both owned by RedBird Capital Partners – despite Toulouse making alterations to the board so it proves they have no say in the running of the club.

A statement from UEFA said: “The clubs will not transfer players to each other, whether permanently or on loan, directly or indirectly, until September 2024.

“The clubs will not enter into any kind of cooperation, joint technical or commercial agreements and the clubs will not use any joint scouting or player database.”