An additional French club is preparing to pass under the foreign flag.
Saudi Prince Abdullah ben Moussaed, already owner of Sheffield United in the English Premier League, has confirmed the imminent takeover of the Châteauroux club, the red lantern of Ligue 2, with the ambition of joining the elite.
This wealthy investor said he had given the green light to the CEO of his United World group to "conclude the agreement with Châteauroux" which he hopes to raise quickly despite the club's current difficulties.
A priori, Michel Denisot, the former president of the club and of PSG, unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of the LFP in September 2020, would have played a role of go-between in the negotiations.
Last in Ligue 2 with eight points behind the barrage, Châteauroux seems however promised to the descent in National 1 at the end of this season, after four years spent in L2.
United World CEO Abdallah Al-Ghamdi "saw the last match on the pitch and reached an agreement with club officials and the board of directors" of SASP Berrichonne Football, added the prince Moussaed, stressing that the deal would be announced soon.
A personal fortune of 200 million euros
The prospect of relegation does not frighten the Saudi investor: "Our project is not to buy third division clubs, we buy in the first division, Sheffield United (
Editor's note: rising from Championship to the Premier League
) was the exception, and now Châteauroux is the exception ”, underlined Prince Moussaed.
"We found that there was a possibility of relegation, but we have the possibility of recovering quickly, and in a few years we will be at the highest level in France", hopes Prince Moussaed, a fan of Michel Platini who says he is following French football since his childhood.
The prince, whose personal fortune is estimated at 200 million euros, first took a majority stake in Belgian club Beerschot in 2018. He then added Kerala United FC (Indian D2) and Al -Hilal United (Emirati D2) in Dubai in 2020. Long engaged in the paper industry, he switched to sport ten years ago.
He recently explained that he plans to acquire "between six and eight clubs" in total across the world.