The lever that Girona wants to execute (with UEFA's approval)

GironaGirona is negotiating with UEFA to be able to operate normally with the City Football Group, following a forced pause due to its Champions League presence. The Girona club is "optimistic," although it remains cautious, as European football's governing body has always been quite rigid in its decisions. If UEFA gives its approval, loan deals from Manchester City, a common practice for Montilivi for a decade, will be reactivated.

Last summer, Girona distanced itself from the City Football Group due to UEFA's inflexible regulations, which prevent two clubs with the same ownership from competing in the same European competition. The rule: City Football Group reduced its stake from 47% to less than 30%—a figure it couldn't exceed—by transferring it to a third party through a trust. This third party was obliged to retain and manage them throughout this time. However, the ban, which wasn't supposed to go on until September, is gradually becoming orange. In terms of training methods, the Girona club acted independently. "We can't even send each other an email," employees often recalled. There were even changes on the board of directors, from which three executives with active ties to the City Group left, and basic tools, such as email, can now be used.

The Girona club assures that its intention is none other than to return to the full normality that existed before the outbreak of a season in which it displayed its crest in major European cities. That's why it has been working in the offices for months trying to convince UEFA to make an exception and bring forward the previously agreed-upon schedule. The strategic changes that are looming within the squad, where no new faces have yet arrived, require a quick decision, because all clubs have the freedom to decide, and Girona, which will suffer from the downward adjustment to its budget, has its hands tied waiting for a verdict that is not clear whether it will be resolved positively.

"It's not 100 percent clear; we have to finish talking about it, but our idea is to have a City player, yes. It won't be easy; we are still in a regulatory situation where we don't know if it will allow us to do so or not," confessed Quique Cárcel, the Atlético sporting director. The day before, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had also expressed his opinion: "I have no doubt that if it can be done, it will be done. But no doubt at all. It will depend on the will and the conditions, but I am convinced that for a youngster there is no better place to grow than Girona, due to the environment and the context we live in."