La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas, has said there is a 90% chance the first Spanish top-flight game in the US will be Girona’s “home” match against Barcelona in January. Tebas also revealed that Girona’s joint majority shareholders, Manchester City, had encouraged them to get involved in the initiative.

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“Girona-Barcelona will 90% be played in the United States but the agreement is not about just one game, it’s about a process which is much bigger,” Tebas said in an interview with the Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Friday.

Tebas revealed the league will earn €200m from playing games in North America in a 15-year deal signed with the US entertainment company Relevent last month, while stating that no club was obliged to take part in fixtures across the Atlantic. “We held a bidding process and various companies got involved. There’s no obligation for teams to play one game a year in the US, only the clubs who volunteer to go will go.”

The game, scheduled for 27 January, will deprive Girona of a home fixture, with Tebas confirming reports that the club’s fans will be offered free flights to the game, set to take place at the Miami Dolphins’ 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.

City’s parent company, the City Football Group, purchased a 44.3% stake in Girona in August last year, and share an identical holding to Girona Football Group, the agency owned by the City manager Pep Guardiola’s brother, Pere. The Premier League champions loaned Girona five players last summer: Pablo Maffeo, Aleix García, Douglas Luiz, Marlos Moreno and Larry Kayode. García and Douglas Luiz returned for this season, plus the forward Patrick Roberts.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas. Photograph: Víctor Lerena/EPA

“The game is designed to help teams that don’t have a very big fan base,” Tebas added. “Girona are partly owned by City and together with [the Miami Dolphins owner] Stephen Ross, they told us Girona were interested in playing this game. Now, several teams with a similar profile to Girona have shown interest because they see it as an opportunity. Season-ticket holders will be compensated and there is an opportunity to travel to Miami. Relevent will pay the costs.”

Girona, who were promoted to the top flight for the first time in 2017, said they had received the offer to play the game against Barcelona but it had yet to be officially confirmed. “The club has accepted this offer, understanding that it is a great possibility to expand and grow, not only for the club but also for our city and our territory,” a statement on their website said.

“Three years ago, the club was fighting against going out of business and now our objective is to consolidate ourselves in La Liga. This action would be another step in competing in football’s elite after all the efforts we have made.”

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The match has attracted considerable opposition within Spanish football as the players’ union claimed it was not consulted over the deal. Following a meeting of representatives from all 20 La Liga sides – including the Real Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos, and Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets – the union said strike action could not be ruled out.

Both Busquets and his teammate Gerard Piqué, a vocal presence throughout the Catalan independence referendum, are said to be against playing the derby in the US and are considering their positions.

Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish FA, has also strongly criticised the plans in an interview with the Guardian. “Tebas spoke to everyone except the people he had to speak to,” Rubiales said. “It’s a total lack of respect, unfaithful and incomprehensible.

“He has totally ignored the players and even the clubs. His behaviour was terrible but very much like Tebas: very much lacking in respect. He has signed an agreement that it is not up to him to sign. It means nothing without our authorisation, so we’ll see what happens to this game.”

Reports in Spain this week have also claimed no Catalan flags will be permitted inside the Hard Rock Stadium for the game, and 40,000 Spanish flags will be handed out for a match between two Catalan teams.