By Samindra Kunti
November 28 – Lille OSC is ending its partnership with Belgian satellite club Mouscron-Péruwelz. The French club will dispense of its 51% share in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League club before Christmas to avoid a conflict of interest for Lille shareholder Marc Coucke.
In 2011 Lille OSC became a minority shareholder in Mouscron-Péruwelz, a club in the third division. Lille used Mouscron to develop some of its reserve players. This season Mouscron returned to the Belgian top-flight and currently the club sits in 11th place in the 16-team division.
At the end of October Mouscron released a statement about the partnership with Lille saying: “The president and the board of Mouscron-Péruwelz wants to reassure the supporters about the future of the club after persistent but unfounded rumors. For four years Lille OSC has been a partner of Mouscron. Both parties will, in good faith, respect the contracts.”
But in November Lille OSC and Mouscron announced that the clubs will part ways before Christmas.
Marc Coucke is the main reason for the split. Coucke is a Belgian businessman, who recently sold his company Omega-Pharma for €3.6 billion to Perrigo. He has a five percent share in Lille, but is also chairman and majority shareholder at Belgian pro league club KV Oostende.
Coucke has expressed his desire to acquire more shares in the French club. The connection between Lille and Mouscron constitutes a conflict of interests for Coucke. He has not ruled out a future partnership between Lille and KV Oostende.
Mouscron is now looking for a new investor. “The new shareholder will be known before the end of this season. The contacts are already so advanced that I still expect a breakthrough in January,” said Mouscron chairman Edward Van Daele.
Mouscron has been linked to French investors, but also Qatari club Al Arabi. If Mouscron is taken over by Qatari investors, it will be the second club in Belgium in Qatari hands: the Aspire Academy own a majority of shares in second-division club Eupen.
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