{"id":68084,"date":"2024-06-07T17:22:03","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T17:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/07\/team-ownership-rules-complicate-a-soccer-stars-next-move\/"},"modified":"2024-06-07T17:22:04","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T17:22:04","slug":"team-ownership-rules-complicate-a-soccer-stars-next-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/07\/team-ownership-rules-complicate-a-soccer-stars-next-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Ownership Rules Complicate a Soccer Star\u2019s Next Move"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/07\/multimedia\/00soccer-MCO-ckjm\/00soccer-MCO-ckjm-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Team Ownership Rules Complicate a Soccer Star\u2019s Next Move\" title=\"Team Ownership Rules Complicate a Soccer Star\u2019s Next Move\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To soccer\u2019s new generation of superrich investors \u2014 risk-friendly billionaires, American hedge funds, wealthy gulf states \u2014 the appeal of a new model for team ownership lay in its simple strategy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By sweeping up not just a single team but multiple squads and hundreds of players into <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/30\/sports\/soccer\/club-networks-manchester-city.html\" title=\"\">expansive multiclub networks<\/a>, these rich new owners believed they could leverage efficiency, best practices and volume into success on the field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Red Bull, the energy drink maker, pioneered the model. Manchester City, the English champion financed by the wealth of the United Arab Emirates, supersized it through its <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityfootballgroup.com\/our-clubs\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">City Football Group<\/a>. Jim Ratcliffe, the chairman of the chemicals giant INEOS, brought it to Manchester United when he acquired a major stake in the club last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But one of the biggest attractions of multiclub ownership has now run up against a significant challenge: European soccer\u2019s governing body is changing the rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The problem, European soccer leaders said, is that matches between teams controlled by the same ownership group could compromise the fairness of continental competitions, and open the door to self-dealing in soccer\u2019s $7-billion-a-year player trading market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aleksander Ceferin, European soccer\u2019s top administrator, has tried to straddle the divide. In a podcast interview last year, he suggested that the multiclub model represented <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/4320747\/2023\/03\/19\/multi-club-ceferin-ownership\/\" title=\"\">a danger to the sport<\/a>, even as he courted investors by saying that the rules on such ownership <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/football\/story\/_\/id\/37637187\/uefa-president-hints-softening-multi-club-ownership-rule\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">might be eased<\/a> under <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2021\/03\/29\/sports\/soccer\/champions-league-new-format.html#:~:text=What%20will%20emerge%20is%20a,advances%20to%20the%20knockout%20rounds.\" title=\"\">the Champions League\u2019s new format<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The current flashpoint involves one of the most celebrated stories of the recently completed European soccer season: the Spanish club Girona and its talented 20-year-old Brazilian forward named S\u00e1vio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Girona finished third in the Spanish league last season, its fourth year in the country\u2019s top division. That performance earned the team a place next season in the Champions League, Europe\u2019s richest club competition, and drew the eye of some of the continent\u2019s biggest clubs to Girona\u2019s top talents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When it came to signing S\u00e1vio, Manchester City had an advantage. Its owner, the brother of the ruler of the U.A.E., is also the holder of the single largest ownership stake in Girona. So the next stop for Girona\u2019s breakout star did not seem to be in doubt. The news was all but confirmed in February, when the social media influencer Fabrizio Romano, who specializes in player trading news, declared the deal done.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cManchester City have signed all documents to sign S\u00e1vio from July 1,\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FabrizioRomano\/status\/1759964814372209066?lang=en\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">he declared in a message to his 20 million-plus followers on X<\/a> that began with a red-siren emoji.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The rights to S\u00e1vio, though, didn\u2019t actually belong to Girona. The player had been on loan from the French club Troyes, which is also a member of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityfootballgroup.com\/our-clubs\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the City Football Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Those types of multiple holdings have become commonplace in world soccer in the past half decade: Data from UEFA, European soccer\u2019s governing body, has identified more than 180 teams worldwide, employing more than 6,500 players, that are now part of multiclub networks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That has created a problem for UEFA. In the past, it had focused mostly on how team ownership affected its competitions, ruling that a single owner <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/documents.uefa.com\/r\/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-Champions-League-2023\/24\/Article-5-Integrity-of-the-competition\/multi-club-ownership-Online\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">could not control multiple teams<\/a> in the same event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But with multiclub control on the rise and critics complaining about the integrity of Europe\u2019s biggest tournaments \u2014 not to mention fears that storied, proud clubs are being reduced to mere feeder teams \u2014 UEFA has introduced <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/documents.uefa.com\/r\/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-Women-s-Champions-League-2024\/25\/Article-5-Integrity-of-the-competition\/multi-club-ownership-Online\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">temporary rule changes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under the revised regulations, if an owner reduces their holdings in one of their clubs to less than 30 percent, both teams would be permitted to play in UEFA\u2019s tournaments, provided that the teams also ensure they are separately run, without shared board members and other direct commercial or sporting ties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These rules will be granted for only<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>one season, allowing more time for owners to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ca.news.yahoo.com\/abu-dhabi-owners-man-city-153700726.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">divest a stake in a competing club<\/a> below the threshold required by UEFA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Such an accommodation was made last season for the American owners of A.C. Milan and the French team Toulouse, prompting reports in November that Red Bird, the company that controls both teams, was looking for a buyer for Toulouse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The revised rules on player movement, though, will be strict. Clubs involved in multiclub ownership arrangements would be barred from loaning or trading any players between their teams if they were participating in the same competition. (This rule, too, was in place for <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5362029\/2024\/03\/22\/uefa-multi-club-rules-champions-europa-league\/\" title=\"\">Milan and several other teams<\/a> last season.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That would mean S\u00e1vio\u2019s much-heralded arrival at Manchester City, the Premier League champion, would have to be put on hold if both City and Girona were to play in the Champions League next season. He would still be clear to take part, but it would be unlikely that he could do so in a sky blue City uniform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">(The same issue could affect a prospective move by Jean-Clair Todibo, a defender at the French club Nice \u2014 owned by Mr. Ratcliffe \u2014 <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/05\/30\/jean-clair-todibo-issues-blunt-response-man-utd-transfer-talk-20937764\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">to Manchester United<\/a>. United and Nice have both qualified for a different UEFA competition, the Europa League, next season. \u201cWe understand the UEFA regulations,\u201d Mr. Ratcliffe\u2019s company, INEOS, said in a statement, adding, \u201cOur objective is for both clubs to play in the Europa League. We now await UEFA\u2019s decision.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">City Football Group said it had been in contact with officials at UEFA for months in order to find a way to clear both Manchester City and Girona to play in the Champions League. All clubs had a deadline of this past Monday to file final documentation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">UEFA declined to comment on the proposed deal, but a final decision on team eligibility is expected to be announced next month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/07\/world\/europe\/savio-manchester-city-girona.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To soccer\u2019s new generation of superrich investors \u2014 risk-friendly billionaires, American hedge funds, wealthy gulf states \u2014 the appeal of a new model for team ownership lay in its simple strategy. By sweeping up not just a single team but multiple squads and hundreds of players into expansive multiclub networks, these rich new owners believed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/07\/multimedia\/00soccer-MCO-ckjm\/00soccer-MCO-ckjm-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[63868,59,21106,899,10032,1365,1856],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68084"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68086,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68084\/revisions\/68086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}