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American investment firm Clearlake Capital, which owns Chelsea FC, have reached an agreement for the takeover of Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, according to a report from L'Équipe, an agreement which will see Marc Keller remain as president.
The consortium BlueCo which purchased Chelsea last year has reached an agreement to become shareholders of French club Racing Strasbourg, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
The agreement will see BlueCo invest in Strasbourg's first teams and academy while Marc Keller will remain the club's president having been at the helm since 2012 when the club was at risk of being liquidated.
Strasbourg have since moved up from the third tier to Ligue 1 where they have played for the last six seasons and also won the French League Cup in 2019. They finished 15th in Ligue 1 last season.
Strasbourg president Keller has submitted this Thursday to the DNCG – Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion, French football's financial watchdog – the entry of foreign capital in the Alsace club from new investors, namely Todd Boehly, Hansjörg Wyss and Mark Walter, all of whom have been involved with Chelsea since May 2022.
This a twist in the months-long saga as the Alsaciens were still in limbo some days ago amidst talks with Chelsea over a potential takeover of the club, according to our exclusive information.
RMC Sport understands that Keller had negotiated guarantees from Clearlake that he would remain Strasbourg president for several years to come. The outlet add that Clearlake Capital's project is to own two to three football clubs in order to expand their portfolio of players and with a view to developing synergies between the investment firm-owned outfits. The idea is, broadly, to have sister teams where every club would retain their core identity.
RMC Sport add that the Ligue 1 side's financial means will dramatically increase. The takeover will therefore help Strasbourg in their projects to renovate their facilities, from the training grounds to the La Meinau Stadium.