Man City owners City Football Group may now be forced to sell Girona amid a threat from UEFA regarding multi-club ownership.
City Football Group’s portfolio encompasses 12 clubs worldwide, including Girona who are 3rd in La Liga and set to play Champions League football next season – in theory.
But UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership dictate that two clubs in the same network cannot compete in the same competition, so Girona now face being demoted to the Europa League.
As reported by the Associated Press, a leaked UEFA document shows that City Football Group would have to divest ownership in either club to below 30 per cent for both to compete in the Champions League.
Analysis: UEFA’s “threat” warning has now materialised
In early 2023, UEFA set out its position on ownership structures that include more than one club.
“The rise of multi-club investment has the potential to pose a material threat to the integrity of European club competitions,” the governing body said.
“[There is ] a growing risk of seeing two clubs with the same owner or investor facing each other on the pitch.”
That risk is now a reality and UEFA are taking a hard-line stance.
City are far from the only Premier League team within an ownership system with multiple European clubs – West Ham, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth also meet the criteria.
Liverpool and Man United meanwhile are eager to expand their reach too.
How will this affect City Football Group’s expansion plans?
Girona have been one of City Football Group’s major success stories.
The group controls a 47 per cent stake in the Catalonia-based side, who are also part-owned by Pep Guardiola‘s brother Pere Guardiola.
It is unclear how they will deal with UEFA’s multi-club ultimatum. But it would surely enrage Girona fans to see their side drop out of Europe’s top tier competition after the best season in the club’s history.
The inevitable dissent would highlight another problem with multi-club ownership – that supporters feel like their side is a pawn in a wider game.
This was evident when supporters of Dutch side NAC Breda protested against a potential City Football Group takeover in 2022, citing the lack of autonomy and loss of identity the club would suffer under the system.
Keeping clubs and fans on-side is significant for the Abu Dhabi-backed Group, especially given the role that European clubs have played in helping them navigate post-Brexit transfer rules via the point system.
The route they choose to take with the Girona dilemma therefore will be indicative of their wider global strategy going forward.
If they choose to upset the applecart in terms of their commitments to their European contingent, that could herald a further pivot towards North and South America, where they own two blue-chip assets in New York City and Bahia, as well as Montevideo City.