Strasbourg’s unexpected rise in Ligue 1 could pose a significant challenge for Chelsea, as both clubs are part of the same multi-club ownership model.
In 2023, BlueCo, the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, added Strasbourg to their portfolio of sports investments. At the time, the French club was fighting relegation and had only finished in the top half of Ligue 1 twice in the 21st century.
However, Strasbourg has had a remarkable season, climbing to fifth place in the league, partly due to the guidance of their English head coach, Liam Rosenior, and their ties with Chelsea. But if both clubs continue to succeed, the movement of players between them could face complications.
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UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin recently reinforced the rules, stating: “Clubs [in the same UEFA competition] are not allowed to transfer players between themselves or on loans, establish commercial cooperation, or share scouting databases.”
Currently, Chelsea have goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic and Brazilian youngster Andrey Santos on loan at Strasbourg. Additionally, reports suggest that Chelsea have agreed to a deal to bring 19-year-old centre-back Mamadou Sarr to Stamford Bridge in the summer. However, according to UEFA’s regulations, this transfer “will not be possible if Strasbourg and Chelsea were to participate in the same European competition,” as pointed out by Foot Mercato.
A similar situation occurred last summer when Manchester United were blocked from signing Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice due to INEOS’ involvement with both clubs, which had qualified for the Europa League.
Ligue 1’s top three teams automatically qualify for the Champions League, with fourth place entering the qualifying rounds. Fifth place secures a Europa League spot, and sixth offers a place in the Conference League. With 11 games left in the season, Strasbourg are just one point behind Nice in fourth and three points behind third-place Marseille.
In the Premier League, Chelsea are currently fourth, just five points ahead of Bournemouth in tenth. If both clubs qualify for the same UEFA competition and BlueCo cannot demonstrate clear separation between them, the lower-placed team would be blocked from participating in that tournament.
While this penalty is avoidable—clubs like Manchester City and Manchester United have successfully addressed UEFA’s concerns in recent years—the possibility of having their transfers blocked could be detrimental for Chelsea.
After BlueCo’s takeover of Chelsea in 2022, Boehly explained the rationale behind acquiring a feeder club: “The challenge Chelsea has right now, or one of them, is that when you have 18, 19, and 20-year-old superstars, you can loan them out to other clubs, but you put their development in someone else’s hands. Our goal is to make sure we can show pathways for our young superstars to get on to the Chelsea pitch while getting them real game time. The way to do that is through another club somewhere in a really competitive league in Europe.”
Unfortunately for Chelsea, Strasbourg’s newfound competitiveness might be complicating those plans.
