Why Girona winning LaLiga could be bad news for Manchester City

Imagine the scene. Girona are one win away from winning La Liga and completing an incredible footballing fairy tale by beating Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona for the title, just two years after gaining promotion to the Segunda Division. But 1,000 miles away, Manchester City have just seen their Premier League title bid falter and the best they can achieve is second place.

It doesn't matter, right? You can't be champions every year, not even Pep Guardiola's dominant City team.

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But this hypothetical scenario has a strong chance of becoming a reality this season, with Girona top of La Liga and City five points off top spot in the Premier League. The potential consequences of this explain why multi-club ownership has become such a significant issue in football, prompting UEFA President Aleksandar Ceferin to declare last year that regulations surrounding club ownership should be “strict”.

It is above all about transparency and avoiding the prospect of two or more clubs being controlled by owners with decisive influence over them. As such, the nightmare scenario for UEFA, and for football itself, is the threat of Girona being asked NOT to win La Liga by their owners in order to ensure City do not miss out on a Champions League place. champions next season.

It seems far-fetched, but according to UEFA regulations (article 5.02, to be precise), two teams belonging to the same ownership group cannot play each other.

If two clubs from the same ownership group qualify for the same UEFA competition, the team that finishes first in its domestic championship gets the place. If both teams finish in the same position, the one with the highest club coefficient (City in this case) will be awarded qualification. But if Girona wins La Liga and City finishes second in the Premier League, Girona would play in the Champions League next season and City would advance to the Europa League.

It is for this reason that a remarkable La Liga triumph for Girona could be very bad news for Manchester City, with the satellite club potentially depriving the group's senior team of the prestige and financial benefit of playing in the Champions League. champions.

There is no indication that Girona would be asked to take their foot off the gas in La Liga simply to stop City missing out on a Champions League place, but it is the possibility of undue influence that is the problem.

Girona's club crest is proudly displayed on the wall of the City Football Academy — Manchester City's training ground — as one of 13 clubs in the City Football Group (CFG), alongside others including New York City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos, Melbourne City, Palermo and, of course, reigning Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester City.

The links between City and Girona are strong and undeniable. In August 2017, CFG acquired a 44.3% stake in Girona in an equal partnership with the Girona Football Group owned by Pere Guardiola, the brother of municipal manager Pep, who now holds the position of president of Girona. CFG has since increased its stake to 47%, while Pere Guardiola now owns 16%, 35% of which is held by Marcelo Claure, the president of Bolivian team Club Bolivar, another of the 13 clubs in the CFG group.

In the seven seasons since his arrival at CFG, which describes itself as “the world's leading private owner and operator of football clubs, with full or partial ownership of thirteen clubs in major cities around the world”, 15 players have left City directly for Girona. , either on loan or on a permanent transfer. Meanwhile, Simon Cliff is listed on the CFG website as general counsel, while Girona's website also lists him as a member of the club's board of directors.

Close ties and ownership issues don't just weigh on Manchester City and Girona. The imminent arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Manchester United with a 25% stake in the club and full control over football operations means UEFA will have to act if United and Nice, also controlled by Ratcliffe's INEOS group, qualify for the same competition. Nice are second in Ligue 1 and on course for the Champions League, so United's poor season in the Premier League – they sit eighth, 11 points off the top four – could delay an awkward boardroom conversation. 'INEOS. for at least 12 months.

UEFA has already found a solution to these thorny questions. RB Leipzig and FC Salzburg have been allowed to play in the Champions League together since 2017, although they both belong to the Red Bull group. The RB in Leipzig’s name now stands for “RasenBallsport”. Salzburg had to drop Red Bull from its name during European competitions, as UEFA does not allow sponsor names in its competitions. But, more importantly, they changed their board personnel to demonstrate a clear separation between their control and that of Leipzig. ensure they meet UEFA requirements.

And at the start of this season, UEFA's Club Financial Control Body accepted six clubs' admission to the European competition despite a potential conflict of interest due to shared ownership models involving Aston Villa and Vitoria Guimaraes , Brighton & Hove Albion and Union St-Gilloise, and AC Milan and Toulouse.

But with the links so clear and strong between City and Girona, it seems inevitable that UEFA will have a decision to make this summer as both appear to be on course to comfortably secure Champions League qualification. And if Girona win La Liga and City fail to retain their Premier League title, it could be the catalyst for significant changes to the rules and regulations governing multi-club ownership.