Girona FC head into the international break top of La Liga after winning 11 of their opening 13 games of the 2023/24 campaign, but is Manchester City’s influence the reason for their surprise start to the season?
We take a closer look at just who owns Girona FC and the City Football Group, plus delve into the Premier League champions being it’s flagship club, who also own a 47% stake in the Catalonian side.
Who Owns Girona and What is the City Football Group?
The City Football Group (CFG) is the world’s leading private owner and operator of a number of football clubs across the globe, which was founded in 2013. New York City FC, Melbourne FC, Yokohoma F. Marinos, Mumbai City, Palermo and Girona are perhaps the other most notable clubs the City Football Group either own or have partial ownership of.
In August 2017, the CFG acquired a 44.3% (since rising to 47%) stake in Girona with another 44.3% stake owned by the Girona Football Group, which is led by City boss Pep Guardiola‘s brother, Pere. The shared ownership between Manchester City and Girona has seen a number of young players being loaned from the Premier League champions to the La Liga leaders over the years.
Girona leading 𝘼𝙇𝙇 of Europe's big boys heading into the international break 📈🤯 pic.twitter.com/JmNrjBRcQp
— LiveScore (@livescore) November 13, 2023
Can Manchester City And Girona Face Each Other In European Competitions?
The simple answer is yes, they can play each other if they were to ever meet in a European competition despite the shared ownership, but approval from UEFA would be required. Perhaps a clearer example of this happening is with Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg and Germany’s Red Bull Leipzig.
Both sides are in this season’s UEFA Champions League but Red Bull argued that their primary headquarters are in Salzburg while in Leipzig, it acts as a sponsor. If in the coming seasons Manchester City and Girona were to meet in a UEFA competition, the CFG would likely get the permission required.
Manchester City’s Influence The Reason For Girona’s Fine Start?
Girona are currently looking down on the likes of Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table after picking up 34 points from a possible 39 so far this season. Has the Guardiola connection been the main reason for Girona’s brilliant campaign to date? Those based closest around the two clubs will certainly say yes.
Girona are renowned for playing with a high press and encourage a short, fast passing game which even includes the goalkeeper needing to be quick with his feet, something which Pep promotes via Ederson. “What we hope is that the fans understand that it will have City inside,” said Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano on Girona.
So, Girona, owned by the City Football Group, will likely continue to adopt the Manchester City philosophy and have access to a scouting network and can boast a level of analytics much more impressive than clubs of a similar size or background. Who knows, maybe Girona can become a powerhouse in world football one day.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
