An hour up the coast from their more celebrated rivals, Barcelona, the two clubs couldn't be any more different.
For a start, Girona's 14,624 capacity Estadio Montilivi is currently the second smallest ground in the Spanish top-flight. Even Barca's temporary home at the Estadio Lluis Companys has a 55,926 capacity, but when the new Camp Nou is finished, the Blaugranes will be playing in front of 105,000 people at the largest stadium in Europe.
Barcelona have had their pick of the world's best players for years too, whilst Girona - since 2017 when being taken over by the City Football Group (CFG) - have existed by utilising the loan network and the movement of players between the various entities owned by CFG.
Pep Guardiola's brother, Pere, owns a significant stake in the club as well, which gives rise to the possibility of a steady stream of up-and-coming Man City players being able to learn their craft in the sunnier climes of Catalonia before making the leap to the City first team.
Savinho was a standout star at Girona before Man City move
Last season, Savinho, now at Man City, of course, was one of the standout players at Girona as they qualified for the Champions League for the first time ever.
He scored nine goals and assisted 10 more to help the team to an astonishing 85 league goals, just two off the total that champions, Real Madrid, managed, and six more than Barcelona.
Finishing just four points behind their local rivals and five points ahead of Atletico Madrid was an absolute triumph for first-team head coach, Michel.
Savinho was far from being the best marksman for the club in 23/24, however. That accolade went to centre-forward, Artem Dovbyk, who ended an astonishing season with 24 goals and eight assists, including scoring in both 4-2 league victories against Barcelona.
Centre-back cum defensive midfielder, Eric Garcia, on loan from Barcelona last season, even weighed in with five goals himself.
All three players left the club last summer - Dovbyk to Roma and both Garcia and Savinho back to their parent clubs, meaning that the lion's share of the goalscoring output was going to be left to Viktor Tsygankov and Cristhian Stuani in the 2024/25 season.
The goals have dried up for Girona this season
Tsygankov hasn't come close to replicating his eight goals and seven assists from last season (two goals and four assists in 24/25), whilst Stuani's seven goals and two assists in the current campaign is just shy of nine and three from 23/24, and places him as this season's top scorer.
Signings were made last summer to paper over the cracks left by Dovbyk and Savinho, but they have not hit the heights of their predecessors.
38 team goals across the season to date in 24/25, with just six games left to play, hints at one of their major problems and, perhaps, in hindsight, was always going to be the case if the club were powerless to stop their major contributors to the goals for column last season moving on.
It isn't just the goals, however, as the freedom and bravery which Girona displayed last season has all but disappeared, despite working under the same head coach and playing the same type of football.
The players weren't frightened to shoot on sight in 23/24 and the accuracy with which they did so was on point. Portu (68.8%), Dovbyk (59.7%) and Savinho (58.8%) were all crucial in this regard.
Passing was also crisp and clean, with only two of the regulars, Paulo Gazzaniga (75.9%) and Dovbyk (71.8%) dipping below the 80% threshold.
Girona have become lethargic and predictable in 2024/25
Fast breaks from the back became a feature and their interplay was sharp, precise and exciting - but not anymore.
Girona have become lethargic and predictable, and teams that were overrun by them in 23/24 are now defending against them with ease.
Stuani, for example, has made just nine ball recoveries all season, whilst even the combative Oriol Romeu and midfield partner, Donny van de Beek, have lost more duels than they've won.
In the Dutchman's case, 66 unsuccessful attempts have allowed opposition teams to slice through the middle of the park like a knife through butter.
Although passing stats in general would appear to remain at a high level this season, for the most part, those passes have been in Girona's own half.
When it comes to passing accuracy in the final third, there's been a huge drop-off compared with the previous campaign.
Gazzaniga should hang his head in shame after posting a 16.3% completion stat in this regard, whilst Stuani's 47.7% in the area of the pitch which he inhabits is another vastly inferior showing after last season's 72.7%.
Champions League campaign was a write-off
Going forward the majority of players haven't really covered themselves in glory either, and the added load of having European matches to contend with in 24/25 - with a small squad it has to be said - has to be factored in.
Girona's Champions League campaign was a write-off, quite frankly.
Finishing 33rd out of 36 teams in the league stage of the competition, they lost seven of their eight games and won just one (2-0) against 35th-placed Slovan Bratislava on the third matchday.
It isn't a stretch to understand that confidence levels from taking such a battering in Europe would spill over into their league play this season and, at present in LaLiga, the club are battling to stay in the division.
Just one place and two points above the bottom three, two of Girona's final six games are against the bottom two clubs in the division (Leganes and Valladolid), though the other four are against teams in the top 10 (Mallorca, Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid).
Unless Michel wants to be overseeing a second division team next season, the 49-year-old needs to rally his troops for a final push to get them over the line and to live another day in the Spanish top flight.
