Manchester City could miss out on a place in next season’s Champions League even if they win the Premier League.
Reigning European champions City are the favourites to go all the way again after their promising start to the 23/24 season.
Pep Guardiola’s men climbed back to the summit of the Premier League after their 6-1 win against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Advert
With City expected to finish in the top four, a Champions League dilemma could be presented to their owners, the City Football Group.
This is because Spanish side Girona, who are also part of the City Football Group, have made a stellar start to their La Liga campaign.
Girona are currently top of La Liga having collected 31 points from their opening 12 matches and are two points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid.
Advert
Current UEFA rules forbid owners to field multiple teams in the same European competition, this could become a problem for the City Football Group if Girona continue their fine form.
However, the City Football Group could avoid the problem by potentially selling Girona or reducing their shares so they are not the majority stakeholders.
The City Football Group reportedly owns 47 per cent of Girona at the moment.
City’s local rivals, Manchester United were faced with a similar problem after it was reported that British billionaire and INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe was interested in buying the club.
Advert
However, those fears have been eased after it was reported that Ratcliffe is set to buy a minority stake at the Old Trafford club.
City will continue their defence of the Champions League on Tuesday night when they welcome Swiss champions BSC Young Boys to the Etihad Stadium.
SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Manchester City, Champions League, Football, Girona