Girona, a La Liga team, and Manchester City, a Premier League team, are separated by the English Channel and France. Girona, after starting the season in red-hot form and unexpectedly finding themselves at the top of the La Liga table, now sit in second. Manchester City, the once outcast turned Premier League powerhouse, currently sits second in the table in what will be a photo finish in the Premier League this season. Manchester City is playing in the Champions League knockout rounds, while Girona did not qualify for European competition this season. The teams play in different leagues, different competitions, different countries, and will not play each other this season…so why does Girona have a Manchester City problem?
Mutual Ownership
The simple answer is City Football Group (CFG). City Football Group, majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group and linked with the Abu Dhabi royal family, launched its first foray into club ownership in 2008 when the Group purchased the then-financially unstable Manchester City Football Club. Since that first foray, City Football Group has purchased large or majority stakes in eleven other soccer clubs across the globe, and while Manchester City remains its crown jewel, City Football Group also has stakes in New York City Football Club (US), Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay), Palermo F.C. (Italy), and Bahia (Brazil). In 2017, City Football Group acquired a stake in a small club in a Catalonian town part-owned by the brother of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. That club: Girona F.C. The La Liga side benefited from its City Football Group links, with players like Yan Couto, Savio, and Valentin (Taty) Castellanos all moving on loan to Girona F.C. from other City Football Group-owned clubs.
Why This Matters
Currently, City Football Group claims to own a 47% stake in Girona along with its 100% stake in Manchester City. Both teams are also in Champions League-qualified spots for next year, with each of the top four team in La Liga and the Premier League automatically qualifying for the following season’s Champions League competition. The problem: UEFA, the European soccer governing body which runs the Champions League competition, does not allow multiple clubs with the same majority stakeholder to compete in the UEFA competitions.
Now this is not a rule without exceptions: in 2017, UEFA allowed both RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg to compete in the same UEFA competition. Both clubs, owned by Red Bull, were determined to have sufficiently independent governing and operational structures so as to not interfere with the competition. UEFA has also issued waivers in the 2022/2023 seasons for three ownership groups who owned majority stakes in multiple clubs, though these clubs were not competing in the same UEFA competitions as one another.
Currently, Girona and Manchester City would not need a waiver, as Girona states City Football Group owns 47%, a non-majority stake in the club, though the Group is the largest stakeholder. However, if both of these teams qualify for the Champions League and UEFA discovers City Football Group, or individuals representing City Football Group’s interest, own more than 50% of Girona, then City Football Group would need a waiver in order to allow Manchester City and Girona to both play in the 2024/2025 Champions League competition. Additionally, if UEFA unearthed the >50% ownership stake through an investigation rather than the clubs being honest about its ownership stakes, then UEFA would be less inclined to grant that waiver.
Now, the obvious question is: City Football Group states they own a 47% stake in Girona. Why doesn’t UEFA just trust they own the amount Girona they claim to own? First, it’s important to note Manchester City, owned wholly by City Football Group, is currently charged with more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules. While they have not been convicted of any of these breaches, it’s fair to view claims of accuracy related to financial information from City Football Group skeptically at this time. Second, sports ownership business arrangements can sometimes include structure percentage purchases over the course of a specific period of time. For example, City Football Group may have an agreement with billionaire Marcelo Claure, who owns a 35% stake Girona, to purchase 5% of the team for a specific price. Although there is no public information regarding any agreement, if that were the case, this would make City Football Group the majority shareholder in Girona, and the club would be required to obtain a waiver by UEFA to participate in the competition. A waiver which may be denied given the Premier League financial breach investigation.
Conclusion
Girona has had an outstanding rise. From La Liga 2 to UEFA Champions League in 2 years is impressive, even with the backing of the Abu Dhabi royal family (Girona was relegated from La Liga in 2019 and earned promotion after the 2021/2022 Liga 2 season). However, if Girona finishes in the top 4 in the La Liga table this season, they still may miss out on the 2024/2025 Champions League competition. If City Football Group were to choose which team would participate, the team from the Catalonian town of 100,000 people with no history in the competition would likely be brushed aside by the Manchester City, the Premier League powerhouse and winners of the 2022/2023 Champions League title.
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