CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
How can Manchester City and Girona both play in the Champions League?
The Spanish team surprisingly finished third in LaLiga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona but have complex ties to the Premier League club.
Girona were the surprise package, for most, in European soccer last season, even threatening to clinch the LaLiga title ahead of the behemoths of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético at one stage. They ultimately finished third behind the Clásico rivals to qualify for the 2024/25 Champions League, although their participation was thrown into doubt by their links to Premier League winners Manchester City.
Girona under the City Group umbrella
Girona and City are two of the clubs encompassed by the City Football Group (the Spanish team being acquired in 2017), in which the Emirati-based Abu Dhabi United Group holds an 81% stake, while the remaining share is owned by the American fund, Silver Lake, a major player headquartered in Palo Alto with investments spanning various domains. Additionally, there is a small ownership percentage held by Chinese firms, China Media Capital and CITIC Capital.
During the summer, UEFA opened the door to shared ownership (via a statement issued on July 7) due to the occurrence of multiple clubs with the same owner in European competitions for the 2023/2024 season.
The latest example is, of course, chemicals company INEOS, who own Ligue 1 club Nice and recently acquired a 27.7% stake in Manchester United.
V Sports, owned by American Wes Edens and Egyptian Nassef Sawiris, possesses 100% ownership of the English club Aston Villa and a 29% stake in the Portuguese Vitoria Guimaraes.
A similar scenario unfolds with British entrepreneur Tony Bloom, who owns the English club Brighton & Hove Albion and holds a minority interest in the Belgian club Royal Union Saint-Gilloise.
The American fund, RedBird Capital Partners, exercises control over nearly the entire ownership of the Italian club Milan and holds up to 85% ownership of the French club Toulouse. However, it’s important to note that Gerry Cardinale, the founder of RedBird, and none of the fund’s advisors sit on the board or the executive team of Toulouse. This distinction is key.
In this manner, they avoid breaching UEFA regulations, which state:
“No club, either directly or indirectly, holds or deals in securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition; no club is a member of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition; no one has any power whatsoever or is simultaneously involved, directly or indirectly, in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition; and no one has control or decisive influence over more than one club in a UEFA club competition.”
What changes were required for Girona to play in the Champions League?
The European governing body, presided over by Aleksander Ceferin, granted approval for shared ownership, albeit with certain nuances.
It was within those nuances that Girona’s prospects of participating in European competitions lay.
Prior to this summer, the City Football Group held 47% ownership of the Catalan club, with the remaining shares divided among the Guatemalan entrepreneur Marcelo Claure, who possesses 35%, and other investors. The City Football Group does not have sole ownership of the club, as the Chairman of the Board is Pere Guardiola (brother of Pep, the manager of Manchester City), and the club’s President is Delfí Geli, a former player of Barcelona, Atlético, Albacete, and Alavés.
In order for Girona to be allowed to compete in European competitions alongside City, the City Football Group had to either sell enough shares in Girona to an independent third party to reduce its stake below 30%, or transfer its shares into a blind trust overseen by a UEFA-appointed panel.
The City Football Group went down the latter route, revealing their “shareholding in Girona FC has been put into an independent blind trust to ensure compliance with UEFA rules and regulations” from July 1, 2024 until June 30, 2025. That means they are covered for this season initially, but they would have to revisit the situation again next summer if both clubs once more qualify for European competitions.
Additional UEFA restrictions also had be adhered to by Girona to obtain the definitive approval to participate in European competitions. These include clubs not entering into any form of cooperation, joint technical or commercial agreements, and not utilizing any shared database of scouts or players.
Girona and Manchester City restrictions
The most significant restriction is that clubs cannot transfer players between themselves, either on a permanent or loan basis, directly or indirectly, until September of the following season (in the case of Girona and City, until September 2025).
As a result, Brazilian youngster Yann Couto, who spent two seasons on loan at Girona from Manchester City, was unable to return to Catalonia, and instead agreed a temporary move to Borussia Dortmund.
City permanently signed Savinho, also on loan at Girona last season, from Troyes, another City Football Group member, although they aren’t involved in Europe.
In summary, Girona will be able to coexist with Manchester City in European competitions after, in theory, demonstrating that no one from the City Football Group influences decisions within the organization and that there is no exchange, be it commercial or involving players, between the respective clubs.
Precedents with RB Salzburg and Leipzig
UEFA has dealt with similar cases in the past, such as the situation with Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) and RB Leipzig (Germany). Both teams competed in the Champions League last season. UEFA allowed them to coexist in the top European competition because it was argued that Red Bull has its primary headquarters in Salzburg, while in Leipzig, it merely acts as a sponsor.
Something similar occurred in 2020 when AC Milan and Lille met in the UEFA Europa League for the 2020/21 season. Despite conducting an investigation into the involvement of Elliott Management (who were the owners of the Italian club at the time) as creditors within the holding company Melvyn Partners (owners of Lille), UEFA granted approval. Ultimately, the UEFA Club Financial Control Committee found no irregularities.
Girona, who were in the fourth tier of Spanish soccer are recently as 2007, are therefore free to play in the Champions League for the first time ever and are all set for some of the biggest games in their entire history. The Catalans visit PSG for their UCL debut, will face AC Milan at San Siro and host Premier League giants Liverpool and Arsenal at Montilivi.