Multi-club loophole

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Head Start

Multi-club loophole raises concerns

Three board members of the Spanish club Girona, a sister club to Manchester City, have stepped down as directors so that both clubs can play in the Champions League next season.

It’s surprising news.

Why? Well, it was reported last month that next season, 2024/25, would be a transition year and that UEFA’s Multi-Club Ownership (MCO) rules would be enforced more strongly in future campaigns…

… ultimately meaning that Manchester City and Manchester United would be allowed to play alongside their sister clubs, Girona and Nice.

UEFA effectively did that thing when you delete an email on a Friday afternoon. It’s easier to kick that can down the road and deal with it later. 

But, to be on the safe side, Manchester City have already acted to comply with Article 5 of UEFA’s Champions League regulations.

And so… City have reduced its 47% shareholding in Girona to under 30% by…

… drum-roll please…

… putting shares into a “blind trust” which - and here’s the punchline - “has to be operated independently”.

(A blind trust is when control over assets is handed to a trustee who makes decisions independent of the owners - in this case, City Group and INEOS).

Manchester United’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also made clear that Nice will be put into a blind trust to comply with UEFA’s rules.

Hmmm.

Let’s be honest… the idea that sister clubs will operate totally independently is hard to believe…

… and the key question is: How can it be proved that blind trusts operate independently?

Route One take: In this case, the clubs aren’t to blame. The ‘loophole’ that City and United are using has been given the nod by UEFA to make it look as though they’re enforcing fairness…

… but in reality, it doesn’t achieve much.

Plus…

FIFA is struggling to find a broadcaster for next year’s Club World Cup (More)

Fulham agree a club-record £47 million deal to sell Palhinha to Bayern Munich (More)

Chelsea Women are closing in on a deal for England right-back Lucy Bronze following the expiry of her Barcelona contract (More)

Poll

Copa America Stats Zone

QF: Argentina vs Ecuador (Friday, 5 July, 21:00 ET)

→ Argentina have won their last eight matches, including friendlies, equalling the longest winning streak under Lionel Scaloni as head coach.

→ Ecuador have only ever beaten Argentina five times in their previous 40 meetings in all competitions

Group D: Brazil 1 - 1 Colombia (Highlights)

→ Colombia are unbeaten in 26 straight matches (W20 D6), marking the second-longest unbeaten streak (27) in the nation’s history.

→ Brazil have not conceded more than one goal in any of their last 24 Copa America games (13 wins, 8 draws, 3 losses), a streak that began in the 2011 edition.

→ Three of the last four direct free-kick goals Brazil has scored in all competitions have been against Colombia.

Premier League

Manchester United to cut 250 jobs

Manchester United told the club’s staff that up to 250 of the 1,112 employees will be losing their jobs. That’s almost a quarter of their staff.

It’s all part of the club’s wide-scale cost review which recommended that cuts should be made across all departments.

And there’s a strong argument that Manchester United’s cuts are a necessary evil.  

That’s because United have a ‘bloated’ structure which has grown significantly over recent years… 

… as club accounts showed United’s monthly employees had risen to an average of 1,112, up from 1,035 in 2022 and 983 in 2021.

To put that into perspective, they have far more employees than their rivals - Liverpool (1,005), Chelsea (788), Spurs (719), Arsenal (649) and Manchester City (520).

It has also been reported that the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) also poked the cost-cutting bear as it will ultimately improve the club’s profitability.

A user on X (Twitter) calculated just how effective the cuts will be on United’s finances.

While it’s an estimate, it does show that United’s revenue per employee would better their rivals after their redundancies…

It’s a shame that the cost-cutting burden falls on staff members, but it’s not uncommon for Premier League clubs to have a heavy-handed approach to redundancies…

… as in 2020, the Arsenal supporters’ trust criticised the club for making 55 staff members redundant.

It’s no doubt an uncomfortable step for any club to take but it’s one of the few near-term levers a club has to reduce costs…

… and - well - be profitable again.

Off The Pitch

🗳️ The UK general election takes place today, voting ends at 22:00 BST (More)

🚲 Mark Cavendish breaks Tour de France record with 35th win (More)

🧠 A new Alzheimer's treatment has been approved aimed at patients facing early stages of the disease (More)

🐜 Ants can perform lifesaving amputations on wounded friends (More)

🐓 Chicken burgers feature on 47% of restaurant menus (More)

🎾 Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray will play mixed doubles together at Wimbledon (More)

Around The Football World

🇹🇷 UEFA are investigating Turkey’s Merih Demiral’s celebration against Austria after appealing to make an ultra-nationalist salute (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal are interested in Bologna and Italy centre-back Riccardo Calafiori as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his side’s defence (More)

🇧🇷 Brazil coach Arthur Elias has confirmed that 38-year-old Marta, considered one of the best women’s players in history, will be included in his Paris Olympics squad (More)

🇪🇸 The Spanish top-tier La Liga has confirmed they will use semi-automatic offsides next season but still refuse to use goal-line technology (More)

🌍 Real Madrid's stadium will host the final of the 2030 World Cup, organised by Spain, Portugal and Morocco (More)

Extra Time

Cristiano Ronaldo’s set-piece numbers aren’t great.

We’re still trying to work out what Eric Cantona was saying. 

Roy Keane plays winner stays on.

Raphina’s free-kick against Colombia was pitch-perfect. 

The Euros 2024 power ranking after the round of 16.

Long read: The sad demise of Reading Women - and why we should have seen it coming.

Game Face On

Question: Which player has played in 19 major tournament matches for France and not lost a single one?

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

TENNIS

Wimbledon Gentlemen’s and Ladies Singles Second Round & Doubles First Round (11:00 BST)

GOLF

DP World Tour: BMW International Open (11:30 BST)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

N’Golo Kanté. 

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day was submitted by Stefan from Sao Paolo: Turkey have carried the Euros this year, and every game has been thrilling. I hope they at least reach the semis. Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.