According to reports from French media outlet L’Equipe, the owner of Chelsea, Todd Boehly, and his financial associates recently had a discussion with the President of Strasbourg as they want to purchase a 100% stake in the French club.
The President of Strasbourg, Marc Keller who was a former midfielder in his playing days is in charge of the club based in Alsace, France.
Keller recently had an eat out with the West London club owner.
The team Todd Boehly is looking to buy are not having a great season
In spite of the team’s recent problems, there is only one team in between them and the murky waters of relegation and Strasbourg are two points above the team placed seventeenth (17th) in the relegation zone.
The French side finished in sixth (6th) position last season but this season hasn’t gone the way they would have liked as they sit fifteenth (15th) on the Ligue 1 table.
Todd Boehly and his financial partners are keen on taking on the financially balanced side and growing it to a positive level.
Some moves that Todd Boehly and his associates intend on doing is loaning players to the football club.
The Blue-and-whites former financial difficulties saw them go bankrupt and restart from the fifth tier of French football back in 2011 and also coming back to professional football in 2016 with promotion to Ligue 2, then gaining promotion to top flight football the season after.
Strasbourg have won one Ligue 1 title in their over hundred (100) years of existence
The consortium also eye putting money into the German market to acquire clubs that they hope to build towards success.
Strasbourg was founded in 1906 and definitely fans of the side would want their club to wield more financial power.
This move could help the French side compete at a much better level than they currently are.
Multi-club ownership model is not new to football
Multi-club type of owner are not alien in football as we have seen the City Football Group – who are the owners of Manchester City and also have shares in New York city, Melbourne City, Montevideo City Torque, Troyes, Lommel, Mumbai City, Girona amongst others.
Nevertheless, UEFA are worried about the effect Multi-club ownership models are having on club competitions that UEFA supretends.
And practically, Chelsea could be put into the same group or face Strasbourg in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa conference league.
Todd Boehly already co-owns two basketball franchises, Los Angeles Sparks and Los Angeles Lakers in addition to baseball side Los Angeles Dodgers.
UEFA are concerned about what would come to place if that scenario was to unfold. According to a report by the Financial Times, more than 180 teams across the globe were part of a multi-club chain by the end of 2022
A number that has increased by a whooping fourty (40) since the year 2012.
UEFA showed their concerns at the beginning of this month and they believe this movement of multi-club ownership is “being fuelled predominantly by US-based investors”.
A statement read: “The rise of multi-club investment has the potential to pose a material threat to the integrity of European club competitions, with a growing risk of seeing two clubs with the same owner or investor facing each other on the pitch.”
It’s left to be seen how UEFA would go about this happenings with clubs in Europe but for Todd Boehly it seems it is another avenue to spread his tentacles.
