Can Girona play in the Champions League as part of City Football Group?

Girona FC qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history after beating FC Barcelona 4-2 over the weekend, an historic achievement reached in only their fourth ever top flight campaign in La Liga. 

But amid the celebrations, serious questions are raised about the ownership of the north Catalan side, and whether they will even be able to compete in European competition at all. 

The question arises from the fact that City Football Group, a holding company belonging to the Abu Dhabi United Group, own 47% of Girona FC as well as 100% of Manchester City Football Group, the most recent winners of the Champions League and English Premier League. Pere Guardiola, the brother of Manchester City manager Pep, owns 16% of Girona FC, while businessperson Marcelo Claure holds 35% of the club. 

Article 5.01 of UEFA’s Champions League regulations for the 2024/25 season states that no legal entity “may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition.” See below for the full wording of UEFA article 5.01. 

The phrase ‘control or influence’ is defined as “holding a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights; having the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the club; being a shareholder and alone controlling a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights pursuant to an agreement entered into with other shareholders of the club; or being able to exercise by any means a decisive influence in the decision-making of the club.”

John MacBeath, Simon Cliff, and Ingo Bank are three of the five members of Girona FC’s Board of Administrators who are likely to see the Catalan club, as things stand, be in breach of UEFA’s rules. MacBeath is a Member of the Board at Manchester City, Cliff acts as General Counsel to City Football Group, while Bank is also reported to have connections with City Football Group.

Yet, UEFA’s regulations state that for the 2024/25 season, the criteria must be met as of June 3, 2024, which means Girona have a month to make the necessary structural changes to be able to compete in the Champions League, if they are deemed to be in breach of the rules. This means that the club will have a month to find replacements for their board members linked with City Football Group and prove that they operate sufficiently independently from the English side. 

Given Manchester City’s success and Girona’s surprise arrival on the European stage, the high-profile nature of the clubs’ association would suggest that UEFA will keep a close eye on the relationship between both entities, doing any investigations if necessary. 

There is a recent precedent in UEFA competitions that can offer some guidelines as to how to follow the Girona-Man City situation, that of Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig, who both played in the 2017/18 Champions League after European football’s governing body were satisfied "no individual or legal entity had a decisive influence over more than one club."

Some restructuring will be needed in the club hierarchy, but it’s very plausible that Girona make the necessary changes and will be allowed to compete in the Champions League next season. 

UEFA article 5.01 on multi-club ownership

To ensure the integrity of the UEFA club competitions (i.e. UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League), the club must be able to prove that as at 3 June 2024 the below criteria are met and the club must continue to comply with the below criteria until the end of the competition:

1. No club participating in a UEFA club competition may, either directly or indirectly:
   1. hold or deal in the securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition;
   2. be a member of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition;
   3. be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition; or
   4. have any power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition.
2. No one may simultaneously be involved, either 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.
3. No individual or legal entity may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition, such control or influence being defined in this context as:
   1. holding a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights;
   2. having the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the club;
   3. being a shareholder and alone controlling a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights pursuant to an agreement entered into with other shareholders of the club; or
   4. being able to exercise by any means a decisive influence in the decision-making of the club.