Over the last decade, the market for owning or investing in a football club has increased, with many A-list actors, elite retired athletes and wealthy businessmen getting in on the action.
However, for some, owning a single football club is, frankly, not enough: participating in multi-club ownership groups.
Multi-club ownership groups have become commonplace in the world of football, and according to UEFA research, more than 180 clubs around the world are part of the model.
Manchester City leads the way when it comes to multi-club owned teams, having a global group of 13 partners, Red Bull follows suit with ownership of five teams in Europe and America. While Manchester United are the latest club to join another club after Sir Jim Ratcliffe took a minority stake in the Red Devils.
Here you will find everything you need to know about ownership of various clubs and how this can affect your favorite football team, such as Manchester City or United, when playing European football.
The Spanish Giro qualified for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history
However, they may not be eligible to play as their partner club Manchester City are also on track to qualify for the competition.
According to UEFA regulations, two teams controlled by the same group cannot play in the Champions League.
Following the news that Spanish side Girona will play in the Champions League next season, doubts have begun to arise over whether or not the Spanish team will be able to play in next year’s competition.
Because? because they are part of the City football group and UEFA states that “No club participating in a UEFA club competition may own or deal, directly or indirectly, securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition.” UEFA”.
Girona’s affiliation with the City Football Group may jeopardize its European participation, with Manchester City also on track to qualify for the competition.
In terms of the rules surrounding this issue, UEFA establishes, as stipulated in article 5 of the UEFA Champions League regulations, that…
“No club participating in a UEFA club competition may own or deal, directly or indirectly, securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition, be a member of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition, participate in any capacity in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition, or have any power in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition.’
The article goes on to highlight how the regulations say that ‘No one may participate simultaneously, directly or indirectly, in any capacity in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition.’
Before going on to say: “No natural or legal person may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition, such control or influence being defined in this context as: possessing the majority of the voting rights of the shareholders, having the right to appoint or dismiss the majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the club, being a shareholder and controlling alone the majority of the voting rights of the shareholders under an agreement concluded with other shareholders of the club, or being able to exercise by any means a decisive influence on the club’s decision-making.’
Manchester United could face the same problem as Manchester City and Girona in the future
Businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently took over the Red Devils and already owns French side OGC Nice.
Ratcliffe is the main shareholder of the French OGC Nice
So what does this mean? Can two clubs with the same owner play in Europe?
The simple answer to a complicated question is that yes, two clubs owned by the same group can appear together in Europe.
However, there are rules that each club must follow and UEFA will also conduct an investigation into the club’s leadership and management before approving such participation.
The reasoning as to why two clubs would not be allowed to participate in Europe would be due to lack of compliance with regulations and if two teams were directly controlled by the same person or group.
As stated above, it is highly unlikely that UEFA or any of the world’s major leagues would allow clubs in the same competition to be directly controlled by the same group due to the risk of damaging the integrity of the sport and/or the league.
However, timeshare clubs have found loopholes in the regulations.
An example of this is RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg, both owned by the Red Bull Group.
UEFA clarified that both parties could participate in Europe because, although both belong to the same parent company, they are controlled by two different and very different management structures.
Therefore, it is possible that Manchester City and Girona could participate in the same competition once they can prove that both teams are only “owned” by the same entity and not “controlled” by it.
The same would be true for Manchester United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Nice if they both qualified for Europe in the future.
The Red Bull group has shown that it is possible for two teams owned by the same parent company to participate in Europe
Both RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salburg (pictured) have appeared together in Europe
What is an example of a multi-club model?
There are many examples of multi-club ownership, however the most obvious would have to be the City group.
The City Group owns 13 teams around the world: Manchester City, New York City FC (USA), Melbourne FC (Australia), Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay), Girona (Spain) , Mumbai City (India), Sichuan Jiuniu (China), Lommel (Belgium), Troyes (France), Palermo (Italy), Bahía (Brazil) and Club Bolívar (Bolivia).
Another example is the Red Bull Group, owner of RB Leipzig (Germany), New York Red Bulls (USA), Red Bull Bragantino (Brazil), Red Bull Brasil (Brazil) and FC Red Bull Salzburg.
Which English clubs are part of multi-club models?
Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Brighton, Leicester City and Cyrstal Palace are affiliated with another club.
Leicster City owners King Power International also have control over Belgian team Leuven, while American businessman John Textor heads Eagle Football Holdings, which has power over Crystal Palace, Olympique Lyonnais (France), Botafogo (Brazil), Molenbeek (Belgium) and FC Florida. (USA).
Brighton’s owner, English businessman Tony Bloom, is also the majority owner of Union Saint-Gilloise, while Aston Villa owner V Sports also has stakes in Vitoria Guimaraes.