Strasbourg not Chelsea ‘feeder club’ but ‘younger brother’ – club president

Strasbourg are gaining popularity in French and European football, but a small percentage of fans still object to their associations with Chelsea.

They are among the top teams in the Conference League this year, sitting fifth in the division after qualifying for Europe for the first time in six years.

At their remodeled Stade de la Meinau on Thursday (20:00 GMT), they take on competition favorites Crystal Palace.

However, some of their hardcore fans, who refer to them as Chelsea’s “feeder club,” are yet to be enthralled by Strasbourg, which were purchased by BlueCo ownership for £65 million under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. It is alleged that Marc Keller, the club president, refutes this claim.

This year, several agreements between Chelsea and Strasbourg have caused controversy, including:

The multi-club model, according to Strasbourg’s ultras, compromises traditional club values with a total membership of 1,539.

Emanuel Emegha was referred to as a “BlueCo’s pawn” by Keller in an earlier instance where they “crossed the line” when they attacked him with a banner during a game against Le Havre earlier in the season.

Emegha joining Chelsea in July 2026 was announced in that regard.

Former France international and club legend Keller was criticized by another fan group, but the majority of his criticism is still unreported.

He told BBC Sport, “I am aware that a small percentage of people still have questions about the multi-club model.” The best response, as I once was a football player, is on the pitch, I believe, and we continue to talk.

We send three, four, five, and six players to Chelsea each season, so I don’t believe we are a feeder club.

After the financial collapse, Keller, who led the consortium that purchased Strasbourg for one euro in 2012, has helped to revive the amateur soccer team.

Two years after forming a partnership with Chelsea, they returned to the Ligue 1 in five years and are now competing on the European stage.

According to Keller, “Discussions with Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have focused on how to use more financial power to develop a smart multi-club model from the beginning.”

Before the takeover, we had strong financial standing and improved annually, but now with new partners, we can dream a little bigger and consider placing in the top six or seven to qualify for Europe each year.

The Stade de la Meinau is the site of BlueCo’s investment, with cranes finishing the stadium’s 26 000 to 32, 000 seat expansion as the final touches to a £157 million redevelopment.

There is incredible attention to detail when you walk around the brand-new stadium, including blue jersey monuments for each and every player who plays for the team.

Keller said, “The good balance is tradition but ambition.”

“We are making significant investments to create a team that will propel the players forward.” That includes scouting networks, player care, data, physio, and staff.

After leaving Brighton, sports director David Weir was hired last month.

However, BlueCo already transformed Strasbourg’s squad, with £112 million being invested in the development of the youngest squad, which is only 21 years old on average in the top five leagues, as did Chelsea. Chelsea are fourth, behind Paris St-Germain, Parma, and their partner club.

Andrey Santos, the midfielder at Chelsea, was the first to benefit from a move between the two clubs after spending 18 months on loan at Strasbourg. He claims to still monitor their matches and texts manager Liam Rosenior.

“We try to work well with the Chelsea technical team to prepare for Strasbourg,” says Keller. That’s positive because it would have been impossible for us to have Andrey Santos, Dorde Petrovic, or Mike Penders in the past.

This BlueCo project focuses on improving quality, and Strasbourg and France are good places for young players to develop.

We are making significant investments in young people. It might happen that Chelsea needs just one player per year. However, we want to have other players playing for top clubs in Europe rather than just Chelsea. It is incorrect to say that they are visiting Chelsea.

They are visiting Strasbourg because of their ambition.

Chilwell believes the former Hull City manager will “go right to the top” and that Strasbourg’s playing style is exciting under Rosenior.

Rosenior has a high standing with BlueCo. He continues to deliver the majority of his team’s speeches and news conferences in English despite his efforts to improve his French.

He was linked with a number of clubs over the summer, including Bayer Leverksuen, due to his reputation for developing players, his play style, and his dressing room management.

“Liam is playing top football, and we are playing with a young team, so they have a lot of room to play,” Keller said.

Multi-club ownership (MCO) dates back to the 1990s, but Manchester City and 13 other clubs from around the world have become fans of the idea.

Manchester United, Brighton, Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Aston Villa, Burnley, Leeds United, and Bournemouth are the 20 Premier League clubs currently operating as MCOs. Before Woody Johnson’s summer purchase of John Textor, Crystal Palace were.

It’s a global trend, Keller asserted. Today, MCO controls 48% or 49% of the top five leagues in Europe. Every MCO has a unique personality. We are attempting to create a smart organization that adheres to Uefa and Fifa’s rules and procedures.

Those rules have some potential limitations.

Chelsea and Strasbourg faced off in the same European competition at the end of last season, which forced BlueCo to establish a “blind trust” to temporarily lessen its influence over the French club.

While Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis weakened his control last season when they could have faced the same opposition as Olympiacos, Brighton owner Tony Bloom did it with Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise.

In this framework, City Football Group placed Girona into a blind trust in 2024, and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe moved his two other Ineos-owned clubs, Nice and Lausanne-Sport, into this arrangement.