Mitchelton-Scott (open in new tab) owner Jerry Ryan said he will continue to own the team and retain its World Tour license after it rebrands to Manuela Fundación (open in new tab) on July 1.

Last week, the Australian team announced that a Spanish non-profit organization founded by Francisco Huertas will take over the team's sponsorship after the season resumes and will continue through 2021.

Ryan told RideMedia (open in new tab) on Wednesday that he is still negotiating with additional sponsors for the team, which will maintain its Australian identity despite Manuela Fundacion's insistence that it become a Spanish team ( (open in new tab).

"To answer your question, I own the team," Ryan said.

"I think one of his juniors told the media about a potential opportunity they would like: a training base in Spain ...... But there is certainly no change in ownership at this stage.

"It's an Australian-registered team. Yes, it is. But we can't change the team license. ...... If it does, it's a process. So I'm still the owner of the team and I still have the license."

Emilio Rodriguez, who heads the sports department of Manuela Fundacion, told Cycling News last week that the rebranded team will establish a service course in Granada. He said, "We must be proud to be a Spanish team."

To transfer the team license, the team must first get approval from the UCI's licensing commission; according to Velonews, the UCI has not yet received the paperwork to submit to the UCI licensing commission. The team's name is Mitchelton Scott, and it flies the Australian flag in its registration on the UCI website.

Ryan suggested to Ride Media that GreenEdge's announcement of Manuela Fundacion as a new sponsor was premature, explaining that general manager Shayne Bannan still had to finalize the deal.

"Shayne is going to Spain next week to finalize sponsorship deals and other opportunities. So we'll be able to talk more about that next week, but in the meantime, we're negotiating with other sponsors for next year," Ryan said.

"We are looking at different options. We've definitely been approached by other sponsors to see if we can do something jointly. We are examining all options."

Mitchelton Scott, which entered the World Tour in 2012 under the GreenEdge banner, reportedly cut player and staff salaries by 70% earlier this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but Ryan said that Manuela Fundacion's sponsorship said last week that its arrival "ensures (the team's) future in 2021 and beyond."

On Tuesday, a report in CyclingTips (opens in new tab) suggested that despite the arrival of Manuela Fundacion, the team's players and staff will be paid only 30% of their salaries for the rest of 2020.