The LaLiga afternoon marked not only Real Madrid’s championship victory, but also Girona’s access to the Champions League. Historic milestone for the small Catalan club, founded in 1930 and which has never played a European competition. There remains only one obstacle to overcome, that linked to the corporate structure: being under the control of the City Football Group like Manchester City, there cannot be two clubs belonging to the same ownership in the same competition.
As things stand this is the composition of Girona: City Football Group holds 48% of the shares, Marcelo Claure 35%, Pere Guardiola 16%. The latter, Pep’s brother, declared the following in an interview given a few months ago to Gazzetta dello Sport: “I don’t think there will be any problems for the Champions League between Girona and City. The UEFA rules are clear, some adjustments need to be made but there won’t be any problem.”
A PRECEDENT: BRIGHTON AND UNION SAINT-GILLOISE
Alex Muzio, current owner of Union Saint-Gilloise, communicated the following in July 2023 to explain the changes within the board of the Belgian club due to Tony Bloom’s timeshare issue between Union Saint-Gilloise and Brighton: “I have become the majority owner of Union, increasing my investment in the club, with Tony’s ownership stake in the club reduced to a minority share.”
