The shocking UEFA rule that could take Manchester City out of next year's Champions League

Treble winners Manchester City look set to challenge for the Premier League title again this season, but will they be able to play in the Champions League next year?

The new Club World Cup champions cruised through their Champions League group in 2023, winning six out of six and setting up a knockout round tie against Copenhagen.

Many people would think Manchester City's financial issues with UEFA and the Premier League would stop them from playing in Europe next year, but that's incorrect.

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Since the 'City Football Group' acquired Manchester City in 2008, they have gained majority or minimal ownership in 11 more clubs, with one being La Liga highflyers, Girona.

CFG purchased a 47% stake in Girona in 2017, with one of the key stakeholders being Pere Guardiola, the brother of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

The team from the north-east of Catalonia has been the surprise package of La Liga this season, going into the new year joint top with Real Madrid on 45 points.

Their unexpected rise to the top of Spain's elite in just their fourth season in La Liga could potentially cause controversy in the UEFA tournaments next season and affect Manchester City.

According to thesun.co.uk, current UEFA rules state that if clubs with the same owners qualify for the same competition, only the side with the highest league position will enter the Champions League!

The lower-ranked team would be automatically moved down to the next level of competition. In this case, it would be the UEFA Europa League.

At this current moment, Manchester City sits third in the Premier League with 40 points, while Girona sits joint top on 45 points.

Since the CFG came into place, there have been no domestic crossovers between the 13 leagues that feature a club owned or in partnership with the group.

Luckily for Manchester City, the detailed facts of the ownership groups of Girona are crucial, with CFG owning less than 50% of the club, meaning both would be able to play in the Champions League together next season.

Girona applied for a UEFA license to compete in European competitions last season after narrowly missing out on a UEFA Conference League spot last year.

UEFA could also consider banning the two clubs from transferring players between each other, but the governing body is considering relaxing the multi-club ownership rules.

According to sportingnews.com, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: "There is more and more interest for this multi-club ownership, and we shouldn't just say no to the investments, and for multi-club ownership."

Is this just another one of the many hurdles that Manchester City seems to be avoiding or surpassing at the moment?