BlueCrow not BlueCo: Le Havre’s owners allay fears of Strasbourg-Chelsea-esque multi-club relationship | OneFootball

The relationship between RC Strasbourg Alsace’s fans and the club’s owners, BlueCo, is fractious. The firm came in back in 2023 and have taken the club from being a relegation struggler, to competing towards the top of Ligue 1. This season, they are notably competing in the UEFA Europa Conference League and sit inside the top four, level on points with leaders AS Monaco.

However, on-field success has not improved the relationship with many of the club’s fans. Their opposition to BlueCo and to the multi-club partnership into which they have entered is existential. The feeling of subservience, or of being the “little brother” as RCSA president Marc Keller put it, is the source of friction. Emanuel Emegha’s move from Strasbourg to Chelsea has opened up those wounds.

Another Ligue 1 side, Le Havre AC, are now also under American ownership, BlueCrow, as of this summer. They too have a multi-club model and also own Spanish side Leganés. However, BlueCrow’s CEO and HAC owner, Jeff Luhnow, has dismissed the idea that Le Havre’s model will match that of BlueCo.

“We know that HAC belongs to the fans. Here, we won’t experience what is happening at Strasbourg. We aren’t buying a club that is superior to Le Havre and Leganés,” he told ParisNormandie Sport.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle