Man City’s associate membership face Champions League wait resulting from rule Man Utd additionally concern
Manchester City’s partner club Girona face an anxious wait for UEFA clearance to be involved in next season’s Champions League.
The La Liga club have secured qualification for European football’s biggest competition for the first time in their history following last weekend’s 4-2 win over Barcelona. The triumph moved them into second place in the table, guaranteeing them a top four finish.
But their participation in the Champions League remains in doubt, due to the fact City have already qualified through the Premier League. Girona are one of 13 teams within the City Football Group (CFG).
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And their qualification alongside the English champions has raised a potential conflict with the multi-club ownership rule, within Article 5 of the UEFA club competitions regulations. CFG own 47 per cent of Girona, with another 35 per cent owned by Marcelo Claure, the Bolivian-American entrepreneur who is president of Club Bolivar, another CFG team.
Pere Guardiola, the brother of City manager Pep, is the chairman of Girona. According to UEFA competition rules, should two clubs from the same ownership group qualify for the same UEFA competition, the side which finishes highest in its domestic championship gets the place.
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If the two teams finish in the same position, the one with the highest club coefficient (City in this case) would be awarded qualification. City won the Champions League in 2023, and need just two more points to secure runners-up spot in the Premier League.
City will also win the title for the fourth successive season if they win all three of their remaining league fixtures – and will take the CFG spot in the Champions League ahead of Girona by virtue of the factors outlined above. It’s understood Girona are unlikely to be demoted to the Europa League to avoid a clash with City.
But the Spanish outfit will have to outline its position and organisational independence from City at a UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) hearing this summer, before being cleared to play in the Champions League. RB Leipzig and FC Salzburg, both owned by Red Bull Group, have been cleared to play together in the Champions League in recent seasons.
While last July, UEFA accepted the admission of several clubs into its competitions despite concerns over potential shared ownership issues. Aston Villa and Vitoria SC, Brighton and Union Saint-Gilloise and AC Milan and Toulouse were all allowed to play in Europe following a CFCB hearing.
Manchester United and Nice will also face a CFCB hearing if the two clubs, who are both either owned or partially-controlled by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group, qualify for European competition. Nice currently occupy a Europa League spot in Ligue 1, while United are outside the European places in the Premier League but could yet qualify for Europe through the league or by beating City in the FA Cup Final later this month.
