‘Not a pyramid scheme’ – Marc Keller defends Strasbourg owners from accusations of lost identity, youth focus, and prioritising Chelsea

Marc Keller’s time as president of RC Strasbourg Alsace saw him take control of the club in 2012 guiding them out of the fourth division and back into the top flight. In the 2018-19 season, this saw the club win their fourth Coupe de la Ligue, and in the 2021-22 season, a sixth-place finish. 

Last season was a turning point in more ways than one for Strasbourg as the side that had finished only three points away from a European position was now mired in a battle at the bottom of the table. This was enough to convince Keller that the club had reached its competitive ceiling and without outside financial investment the club would be in trouble. 

In stepped, the BlueCo consortium who only a year prior had bought Chelsea FC. Keller would have the investment, but it came at a price. A revamped strategy focusing entirely on youth players and a lingering tension with supporters wary that they might be at the foot of a multi-club model built principally to serve the team in London. 

It’s a decision that Keller still defends as he spoke to L’Équipe , “ The arrival of BlueCo was essential to allow Le Racing to be more competitive in the coming years .” As the president further explains, “ We still have two and a half years work [on Stade de la Meinau]… it’s better to be well-supported, and we are. We’ll lose ticketing revenue next year and put around twenty million euros back into the stadium .” 

Keller also hit back at the idea that Strasbourg are being prescribed a project that they can neither control nor influence, “ We say that it is the BlueCo project but in reality, it is the project that we already had at the club. We wanted to take a step forward and this project is boosted by BlueCo. If I stayed, it’s because I believe