In the north east of France, close to the France-Germany border, there sits the historic French town of Strasbourg. The city is home to just under 300,000 inhabitants and, for the purposes of this piece, it plays host to Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace. Or, more commonly known as RC Strasbourg.
Founded in 1906, they’re not one of the modern French giants like Paris Saint-Germain or Olympique de Marseille. But, to merely dismiss them as a small club would be a mistake. They’re one of only six French teams to win all three of the major trophies in France, the crowning jewel in their trophy cabinet came from their conquering of Ligue 1 in 1979.
Like many historic clubs, Strasbourg’s journey has been anything but linear. Their lowest ebb came in 2011, when financial turmoil saw them relegated all the way to the fifth tier of French football.
What followed was a slow, methodical rebuild. By 2016/17 they were champions of Ligue 2, restoring their place in the top flight. The seasons that followed were mixed, finishes ranging from sixth to fifteenth, but they brought stability, silverware in the Coupe de la Ligue, and a sense that the club once again belonged in France’s highest tier.
It was a club that had clawed back control of its own destiny. Then, Clearlake Capital arrived.
When BlueCo announced the acquisition of a majority stake in RC Strasbourg it marked a clear divergence from the norm for a club that has historically been locally owned. Worse still, it put Strasbourg firmly into the rather tragic model of multi-club ownership.
The general purpose of a multi-club model is to share resources and talent for the greater benefit of all in it. Taking emotion and integrity aside, in theory this was a beneficial move for Chelsea given they sit at the top of the multi-club food chain. For Strasbourg, it would turn them into a feeder club.
A lot of parallels between Chelsea and Strasbourg can now be seen, not entirely surprising given they share owners and nowhere is it clearer than in the transfer market. Over two and a half years, it’s been gutted of almost all culture and experience and had it replaced by young talent. Those who are good enough will be transferred over to Chelsea, those who aren’t will be flipped for attempted profit.
It’s laughable when news stories circulate that there are talks ongoing between the two clubs for transfers, as if there’s hours upon hours of negotiations. There are a few particularly ridiculous examples of moves between the two clubs… in no particular order we have:
Emanuel Emegha – Signed in 2023, Emegha has scored an impressive 26 league goals in just 62 games, risen to the position of Club Captain and is now set to join the Chelsea first team in 2026.
Ishé Samuels-Smith – Joined Strasbourg in July 2025 however just a month later the transfer was reversed. Samuels-Smith returned to Chelsea before being loaned to Swansea City.
Ben Chilwell – Having had Ben Chilwell in the shop window for the best part of a year with no takers for a permanent move, Chilwell was sold to Strasbourg.
Mamadou Sarr – Signed by Strasbourg in 2024, had a brilliant season and was subsequently sold to Chelsea and handed an eight-year deal before being loaned back to Strasbourg for the 2025/2026 season.
Unsurprisingly, the Strasbourg faithful are not particularly impressed by the majority of the goings on at their football club. They may find themselves top of the UEFA Conference League group stage table as we speak but they’d trade all 16 of those points for their club’s identity back.
Two main ultra groups are currently driving the bulk of the anti-BlueCo movement in Strasbourg, Ultra Boys 90 and Kop Ciel et Blanc. Their demonstrations have not taken a single form; instead there’s been a variety of banners, silenced stands and open letters to the group to show their dissatisfaction.
It’s important to note that Strasbourg are not entirely anti-BlueCo for the most part, all they’re really calling for is for the club’s sole purpose not to be to prop up Chelsea’s first team.
BlueCo’s reaction to this has been entirely predictable in the sense that it’s been nothing short of arrogant and dismissive. Promises to meet with supporter groups have been left unfulfilled, and of course further fan discourse has been shrugged off with fingers pointing to Strasbourg’s position in the Conference League.
But ultimately, the straw that was due to break the camel’s back has now arrived. And it’s come in the form of Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior took over the side in summer of 2024 and delivered a very strong first season, guiding the club to a 7th place finish in Ligue 1, their second highest since they returned in 2017/18. Form has dipped slightly at the mid-point of the 2025/2026 season, but that’s to be expected with focus split across Europe and Domestic games.
With Enzo Maresca’s New Years Day departure from Chelsea, Liam Rosenior now finds himself as the leading candidate for the seat in the dugout. BlueCo have already shown they have little care for Strasbourg if there’s something there in the way of their plan for Chelsea and Rosenior looks to be just that.
As frustrating as things feel at Chelsea, with the culture totally reset, it’s worth remembering that things could be worse. The plight which Strasbourg now find themselves in is one that undermines everything that makes football so great.
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