It was the first Saturday night of La Liga and the potential shock of the season was unfolding at Estadi Montilivi. For the first time, the tiny multi-use sports stadium – which over the summer was temporarily expanded to 13,500 seats – was being beamed across the world.
Midway through the first half Cristhian Stuani, signed from Middlesbrough the previous month, headed newly-promoted Girona into an early lead against Atletico Madrid. Three minutes later, he did it again: becoming the first ever player to score two headers past Diego Simeone’s side. Atleti were rattled and the Catalans - whose fans were experiencing their first-ever top flight match - were rocking.
The city’s population is less than 100,000 and is associated more closely with skiing than football, with the majority of fans supporting Barcelona – the region’s capital lies just shy of 100km to the south-west. Their local side’s average attendances peaked last season with an average of just over 5,500.
But this promotion had been coming: three near misses in the promotion playoffs since 2013 with 2015 being particularly painful; an injury time goal cost them automatic ascension to Spain’s top flight before they fell in the final. Traditionally though they have plied their trade in the country’s regional third tier – spending five decades out of the second tier until 2009.
It is with this backdrop that Pere Guadiola, brother of Manchester City boss Pep, and City Football Group (CFG) exert their influence. When the Manchester side were bought by Sheik Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group in the summer of 2008, CFG was formed and swiftly expanded.
Newly-formed clubs sprung up with the intention of building a global network. New York City FC and Melbourne City FC were the most prominent, while Uruguay’s Club Atletico Torque (formed in 2007) are owned by the same group. There is also a 20% stake in Yokohama F. Marinos of Japan and in Europe, a relationship, this season made official, with Girona. Another club – NAC Breda of Holland – are reported to be next in the group’s plans.
Media Base (the agency run by Pere) made a joint purchase with CFG to buy a controlling 88.6% stake in the Catalan club, with 44.3% going to each. City’s relationship with this agency is central to their ties to Girona and was crucial in their long-term planning to lure Pep to take the reins at the Etihad. Tied up with this appointment and the links to Pablo Machin’s side is the City boardroom presence of former Barca duo Txiki Begiristain (sporting director)and Ferran Soriano (Chief Executive).
The relationship in principle mutually benefits each club. Girona have access to a pool of players not available to any other club in Europe, while City can loan out their promising young talent to a top level side. Pablo Maffeo, Aleix Garcia, Marlos Moreno, Douglas Luiz and Olarenwaju ‘Larry’ Kayode all made temporary moves the newly-promoted club this summer.
19-year-old Luiz, formerly of Vasco de Gama, and Nigerian international striker Kayode - who topped the goalscoring charts last season in Austria for Austria Vienna (17 goals) – both only moved to Manchester this summer, for a reported combined fee of £14m.
Such partnerships in football have not been unusual – Chelsea have enjoyed a ‘special relationship’ with Vitesse Arnhem and have loaned 18 players to the Eredivisie club since 2010, with the first permanent transfer going through this summer.
However, this was an agreement between clubs with no conflict of interest between owners, something which immediately comes into play when CFG’s takeover of Girona is complete. In an effort to “ensure the integrity of the UEFA club competitions”, the governing body of the European game forbids two clubs with the same owners from competing in European competition.
Whilst both RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg were allowed to feature in this season’s Champions League, due to insufficient evidence of the ownership structure, such ambiguity will not be in play for this link-up. Los Blanquivermell would automatically not be allowed to play European football if City also qualify.
Uefa’s rules state: “No individual or legal entity may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition.” One such definition of this ‘control’ is “being able to exercise by any means a decisive influence in the decision-making” of both clubs.
At present, this may be a minor issue for a club who have only experienced their first taste of top-flight football yet real concerns are continuing to emerge from the partnership.
Kayode was wanted by a number of European clubs this summer but none of whom were able to compete financially with the Manchester club and Newcastle United were one such side who are said to have been infuriated with the striker’s pre-agreed loan move to La Liga.
Three other English-based players have arrived in Catalonia – Marc Muniesa on loan from Stoke City alongside permanent deals for Middlesbrough duo Stuani, scorer of both opening day goals, and Bernardo Espinosa. Various Spanish media reports suggest City’s director of football Begiristain played a substantial role in concluding the moves.
To muddy the waters yet further, City defender Jason Denayer criticised his club for blocking a move to French giants Lyon and attempting to loan him to Catalonia.
“City put a veto on my move to Lyon,” the Dutchman, who later joined Galatasaray, fumed.
“They don't want to sell me or only in exorbitant or unreal conditions, like for example a buyback clause at the same price as that of the sale.
“Suddenly, clubs want me but only on loan. I'm not against that, but I want to choose my destination.
“In that regard, Lyon was a perfect club, an ambitious team in a good league.
“We had an agreement with Lyon, but not City, who absolutely want to loan me to Girona.
“But they have been promoted, play on the counterattack, it's a small city, they have few fans, totally the opposite of Lyon.”
Whilst clubs are fully within their legal rights to block transfers of contracted players, trying to force players into a transfer against their wishes should provoke serious questions.
For now, Girona will revel in their new-found status; there is little to suggest their stay in Spain’s top flight will be a short-lived one with results in the opening month of the season demonstrating they are not out of their depth.
Questions remain over the levels of stringency implemented by the sport’s governing bodies regarding ownership rulings and not only the fairness, but morality involved in its dealings must be invested thoroughly.
In the meantime, both clubs will hope to continue exploiting a relationship which is currently paying dividends and creating a wave in La Liga.
