Girona have confirmed that three of their directors have resigned, which is set to clear the way for themselves and sister club Manchester City to both compete in the Champions League next season.

UEFA have clamped down on multi-club ownership groups in recent seasons, shining a spotlight on the City Football Group after Girona secured a surprise qualification to the Champions League for 2024/25. The Catalan club, who have Pep Guardiola's brother Pere as their chairman, confirmed on Monday that three of their directors with CFG connections have now stepped down.

The move is expected to satisfy UEFA and allow both clubs to compete in Europe next season without fear of any conflict of interest between the two organisations.

Girona confirmed that an Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting on Monday approved the appointment of three new directors to their Board, with John MacBeath, Simon Cliff and Ingo Bank all stepping down.

MacBeath is on both the CFG and City boards and is a former interim CEO of City, while Cliff is General Counsel for CFG and was part of the legal team that represented the Abu Dhabi United Group when they purchased City in 2008. Bank is a senior financial executive at the CFG.

They have been replaced by Matthew Shayle, Edward Hall and Paul Hunston, who the Times report are solicitors from Cheltenham-based law firm Wiggin Osborne Fullerlove.

The Times also report that the CFG will reduce their 47 per cent shareholding in Girona to 30 per cent, with the remaining shares put into a blind trust, which must be operated independently and without the control of the original owners.

City and Girona could face each other in the revamped Champions League format next season, where each club faces eight games against eight different opponents in the group stage.