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Three LaLiga wins in 26
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Last season, the iconic Champions League anthem rang around the Montilivi stadium as Girona debuted in the most prestigious club competition. The 14,624 capacity arena was the smallest in the entire competition and it was indicative of their stratospheric rise. Girona only competed in LaLiga for the first-time in their 87-year history in 2017 and there were echoes of Leicester City when they led the Spanish top-flight during the 2023/24 season.
Ultimately they finished third behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, but ahead of Atlético Madrid to secure Champions League qualification. The expectation was that Girona could firmly establish themselves as regulars in European competition, due mainly to the City Football Group being the largest shareholder at the club with 47%. The reality, however, has been quite different. Girona narrowly avoided relegation last season and they are currently rooted to the bottom of the LaLiga after ten games. So what has gone wrong?
Girona’s struggles after Champions League qualification
The stark reality is that Girona were massively punching above their weight and exceeding expectations, which then became unrealistic. The Catalan City is home to less than 100,000 inhabitants and they became victims of their own success, but the extent of their unravelling causes consternation. With just five games remaining last season, Girona were at legitimate risk of relegation, sitting just three points ahead of the danger zone. Veteran striker Cristhian Stuani was crucial in avoiding the drop, with winners against Mallorca and Valladolid as Girona eventually finished in 16th.
But their struggles have continued this season, recording just a single win and they have the worst goal difference in the league. Futhermore, Girona have picked up just three wins in their last 26 LaLiga games, despite having the ninth most valuable squad. Qualifying for the Champions League meant they couldn’t loan players from Manchester City last season and Transfermart’s LaLiga expert Iván Fuente believes they simply overachieved. “Perhaps the point is not that Girona's performance has declined, but rather that two seasons ago their performance was exceptional,” Fuente said. “They finished third, when until then they had never finished above tenth place. It should also be noted that this is only their sixth season in LaLiga in their entire history.
Girona’s spending: Not building on success?
Girona’s links to Manchester City are well documented with Pep Guardiola’s brother, Pere, the chairman. While their involvement with the heavily-backed City group has benefited Girona, there is a common misconception that their rise in Spanish football was due to heavy investment. That’s simply not true - you can read a detailed breakdown of their spending post-promotion here. Their transfer business since finishing third in LaLiga, however, has been a major issue and they’ve simply failed to replace key players that have departed. Artem Dovbyk, Aleix García, Eric García and Savinho all left at the end of their famous season and their replacements haven’t been successful.
Fuente explains: “Míchel has lost many of the players who shone two years ago: Dovbyk, Savinho, García, Miguel Gutiérrez and Yangel Herrera. Others have aged, such as Paolo Gazzaniga, David López, Stuani or Daley Blind. Also the new signings have not performed as expected, such as Bojan Miovski, Yáser Asprilla, Abel Ruiz, Donny van de Beek, and Arnaut Danjuma.”
Since the start of the 2024/25 season, Girona are the sixth highest spenders in LaLiga (€73.4m) but they’ve made considerably more from sales (€115.8m). The €42.4m profit that Girona have made across that time period is the fourth highest in LaLiga and unlike they’ve not invested in the transfer market to build on their success. The City group spent fortunes to establish Man City as a leading European club but they’ve adopted a more pragmatic approach at Girona. It’s clear that having winning trophies or regularly qualifying for European competition isn’t the main objective for the City group with Girona.
