Will Norodom Ravichak manage to buy ASSE from Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo? While he officially confirmed his takeover offer on RFI on Tuesday, the Prince of Cambodia faces worrying revelations about his candidacy.
Norodom Ravichak and his ambitions for ASSE
Cambodian Prince Norodom Ravichak has confirmed his involvement in the takeover of AS Saint-Étienne with ambitions that can make any fan of the Saint-Etienne club dream. Asked about RFI, the 47-year-old businessman admitted in particular: “I have always had a special affection for ASSE. Thanks to my various business networks, I was able to meet personalities from the world of football and gradually learn about the ASSE sales plan a few months ago.
My goal today is to take care of Saint-Étienne and all those who work to restore this club to its rightful place in French and European football. “ However, in the race to take over ASSE, elements from outside the Loire club could pollute the whole file Norodom Ravichak.
ASSE sale: Al-Khelaïfi involved in the Norodom Ravichak case?
Investigative journalist Jack Abramović-Davies has been interested in the likely future owner of AS Saint-Etienne. In a long article published on the Radio Free Asia website, he lifts a corner of the veil on the Cambodian prince, nephew of the current king Norodom Sihamoni. Jack Abramović-Davies thus reveals that the one who wants to bring AS Saint-Etienne back to its former glory is not a multimillionaire and is not supported in his project by any Cambodian partner.
The right question would then be to know where the “sufficient means to achieve these ambitions and allow Saint-Étienne to regain its splendor” come from, which Norodom Ravichak spoke of in his interview with RFI. In particular, the journalist reports that part of the money could come from Qatar. Indeed, as also clarified by Antoine Chirat, journalist at Onze Mondial, Norodom Ravichak is the owner of the company B&N Conseil et Strategie, whose CEO is Ahmed Bessedik.
A man well known at PSG since he is a longtime friend of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. The 43-year-old man was involved in the Jérôme Valcke villa affair in 2017 in which the president of Paris Saint-Germain was investigated for corruption. His brother, Bouadbellah, even took care of the communication of the Parisian club a few years ago. And according to the investigative journalist, Ahmed Bessedik and one of his brothers, based in Qatar, would play a central role in this plan to buy out AS Saint-Etienne as associates of Norodom Ravichak.
Moreover, it is not impossible that Ahmed Bessedik contacted Nasser Al-Khelaïfi so that he serves as an intermediary between the Cambodian prince and the leaders of Saint-Etienne. Especially when we know the excellent relations between Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and Bernard Caiazzo, chairman of the Greens supervisory committee. The Bessedik brothers could therefore well be involved in this project, which includes a lot of gray areas. As of yet, Romeyer and Caiazzo have yet to decide on the Cambodian prince’s offer.