After the buz around the sale of OM, the sale of ASSE is in the news of French football. The rumor about the takeover of AS Saint-Étienne resurfaces at a time when the club is at its worst. This soap opera involving the two owners of the Loire club seems set to last.
Sale of ASSE: Caiazzo and Romeyer as guardian angels?
The sale of ASSE is still ongoing, but Bernard Caïazzo and Roland Romeyer do not want to sell their club to an investor unable to do better than the duo they form. They are looking for a minority investor who will let them manage the team, taking into account the specificity of the Saint-Etienne club. Obviously, the two owners of AS Saint-Étienne want to avoid the trap of certain French clubs that have gone under foreign flags without necessarily experiencing the promised success. This is the case for OM, Girondins de Bordeaux and more recently OCG Nice …
Recall that Olympique de Marseille has been held since the summer of 2016 by the American billionaire Frank McCourt. The latter is now engaged in a process of selling OM with a Saudi investment fund. As for Bordeaux, it now belongs to King Street after the withdrawal of the American investment fund GACP (General American Capital Partners). The Gym has been owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe since August 2019. It should be noted that PSG, taken over by Qatar (QSI) in 2011, is one of the rare examples of success at the level of the acquired clubs. .
Sale of ASSE: the CEO of Saint-Étienne praises the economic model of the club
Director General of ASSE, Jean-François Soucasse spoke of the Greens’ project on France Bleu “There is a phenomenon that has accelerated, when we look at the ten largest cities in France, they are all more or less less redeemed by Russian, Qatari and American investors … There are several models, ”he pointed out before making the comparison with the project and the economic model of ASSE. “Today, AS Saint-Étienne shows that there is an alternative project that continues to exist. It is important to have passionate shareholders, who love their club, who know all the difficulties, who on a daily basis seek solutions to continue to develop it and who are solid in the storm ”, underlined the Saint-Etienne leader.
Given the difficulties of some clubs bought by businessmen, Jean-François Soucasse assures us that “it sometimes happens that certain initiatives and redemptions are not as efficient as what one might hope at the time of their arrival”. The sale of the ASSE, mentioned a few months ago, is nevertheless in the plans of its two owners Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo. The latter do not close the door to the sale of the club. Only, they would like to leave room only for investors capable of replenishing the club’s coffers to quickly make it grow.
For now, Sainté is managing a situation that has become urgent, that of getting out of the depths of Ligue 1. Coach Claude Puel, lacking an attacker capable of scoring goals and a defender who can regulate the back game , is currently pulling the devil by the tail this season. Every game for the Greens is an opportunity for fans to wipe out further disappointment, even if the victories against OGC Nice and FC Metz in the last three games give cause for hope.
Christophe Galtier, the tree that hid the forest?
With ASSE’s winter transfer window falling short of expectations, Puel was unable to recruit the midfielder he needed and the other overdue positions. The end of the season promises to be difficult for the next opponents of FC Sochaux (Coupe de France) and Stade Rennais FC in Ligue 1 Uber Eats. Rival Olympique Lyonnais are now well away from second in the championship with 52 points, 13 positions higher than As Saint-Étienne with 26 points.
It should be noted that it is the LOSC of Christophe Galtier, the former coach of ASSE, who is racing to lead the championship. He managed to relegate Paris Saint-Germain from all the stars of the championship to a sad third place. These better results were made possible by the quality of the summer transfer window of Lille OSC. For next season, this Lille side is virtually guaranteed to play in the Champions League or the Europa League, an unattainable goal for the Greens by the end of the season.
By ALEXIS