For a good part of the season, Girona was in a duel with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. In the second half of the season, Michel’s troops, as was to be expected, had a bad time and left the title race, but their season remains as brilliant as it is astonishing, at least for those who do not follow La Liga on a daily basis. Excellent results, but also matches that were often very enjoyable to watch with an attacking game and individuals who walked on water. But as is often the case when a club that is not necessarily very posh has a great season, the big European teams pounce on the best players, like vultures on their prey.
The presence of the City Group in the shareholding will not have served any purpose. It’s simple, Girona lost a lot of players this summer, including those who were clearly the three best individuals in the team. First, Aleix García, the eccentric midfielder who had a good number of suitors. The team’s playmaker, whose performances allowed him to be selected with La Roja during the season, has thus headed to Bayer Leverkusen. Artem Dovbyk, top scorer in the last edition of La Liga with 24 goals, has joined AS Roma. Finally, Sávio, the Brazilian nugget, has returned to Manchester City and will make his talent and magic speak on the English pitches.
More than half of the typical team has packed its bags
Three important departures, which are not the only ones. Eric Garcia, who had relaunched himself very well last season, returned to Barcelona at the end of his loan. The same goes for Yan Couto, who reunited with Sávio at Manchester City before joining Borussia Dortmund. And it’s not over, since other players like the Spanish full-backs Arnau Martinez and Miguel Gutierrez have a good rating and are followed by big English clubs. Suffice to say that when La Liga resumes against Real Betis, the eleven lined up by Michel will be very different from the one that ended the season.
Worrying, especially since for the moment, on paper at least, the reinforcements are not necessarily at the level of the departures. If the club has brought in more than 50 million euros into the coffers, it has been quite discreet in terms of arrivals. Abel Ruiz, the striker of the Roja at the Olympics, was recruited for 9 million euros, while the central defender Ladislav Krejci arrives from Sparta Prague for 8 million euros. The club has also concluded the arrivals of Bryan Gil and Oriol Romeu on loan, has offered itself the young central defender Alejandro Francés and has also brought in Donny van de Beek to relaunch it. A transfer window with interesting profiles, but which offers very few certainties and which has practically no experience, particularly with a view to the Champions League. But we know, Michel does not need much to work miracles…
