June 23 – Chelsea’s owners BlueCo have become shareholders in Ligue 1 club Racing Strasbourg, taking a first step in building a multi-club ownership model.
The consortium that took charge in West London in May 2022 had long prioritized expanding their portfolio and the new link with the French club is a first step in that direction. They had reportedly expressed interest in Brazilian and Portuguese clubs in the past.
Reports in France value the deal at €75 million with BlueCo becoming the majority shareholder.
“It is an honor for us to be part of this historic club,” said BlueCo in a release.
“We are committed to preserving the heritage of Racing and are focused on working closely with Marc [Keller, Strasbourg’s president] and his management team to continue the excellent work they have been doing. This strategic investment would further our presence in European football, alongside our ownership of Chelsea. We believe it would create huge opportunities to share knowledge and expertise.”
The Strasbourg president since 2012, Keller will retain his role.
“We’ve built a club that’s healthy at every level and well managed. Although there was no financial urgency, we were aware that we had reached the ceiling of our model, and if we wanted to continue driving Racing forward and projecting it into a new dimension, we necessarily needed to be accompanied by a solid structure capable of supporting our development and our ambition.
“I am therefore delighted of the perspective to welcome a new strategic investor, with whom we would accelerate the club’s ambition to build the Racing of tomorrow.”
In the past, Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly had spoken of the multi-club system as offering “pathways for our young superstars to get on to the Chelsea pitch while getting them real game time.”
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