BlueCo civil war! Chelsea owners 'NOT WELCOME' at Strasbourg

Tom Weber

Updated: 27 Mar 2024 16:12 GMT
4 min read

Behdad Eghbali, Todd Boehly, Strasbourg, Chelsea — © IMAGO

The tension between Chelsea owners BlueCo and the fans of sister club Strasbourg is threatening to boil over.

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It was clear from the moment BlueCo outlined their intentions to acquire the Ligue 1 side that this would be an unhappy marriage. Right from the start, Strasbourg fans saw through the plans of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and protested against the takeover.

The supporters of the historic Alsatian club realised early on that their side was being turned into a Chelsea farm team, forming a relationship from which only Boehly's primary asset would mostly stand to benefit. Since coming on board last year, BlueCo have done little to mollify the outraged fans.

Quite to the contrary, the Boehly consortium has shown that all of the supporters' worst fears were well-founded. Strasbourg's team was gutted of experienced players and, despite significant summer investment, the squad is not good enough to be consistently competitive in Ligue 1, with the side now hovering dangerously above the relegation zone.

© IMAGO - Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali

Fans plot protest march

The underwhelming January business only further stoked the supporters' ire. Despite head coach Patrick Vieira making it clear that he needed more experience and reinforcements in wide positions, the only immediate arrival turned out to be Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos - a 19-year-old midfielder - on Deadline Day.

Though Santos has done well and there is talk of the loan getting extended, the move was further proof that Strasbourg are now a mere training ground for Blues wonderkids, with Angelo Gabriel another player farmed out to Alsace. The youngster is now potentially out until the end of the season, leaving the club without a recognised right-winger thanks to the refusal to sign potential competition for Angelo.

In light of all this, fan group Ultra Boys 90 launched a scathing attack on BlueCo, insisting that the Chelsea owners "aren’t welcome and never will be." Last week, UB90 issued a statement on BlueCo's ownership, saying: “Racing is now nothing more than a financial asset, owned by an investment fund that already owns another club. Multi-club is killing football, and we’ll fight it!"

Now, Racing fans have unveiled their plans for a protest march against BlueCo, Chelsea and company to take place prior to their side's match against Rennes at the weekend. Tensions are threatening to boil over and Boehly's multi-club empire could crumble before it even got properly off the ground.