Late on Wednesday night, there were claims in L’Equipe that AS Nancy Lorraine, currently in Ligue 2, were on the verge of being sold to City Group, who, among other clubs, own Manchester City.
It had apparently been in the works for a number of months, as the holding company looked to ‘increase the position and influence at European level’, and the club’s current president, Jacques Rousselot, would stay on for the next two seasons.
While nothing has been announced, Rousselot did talk to L’Ést Républicain about the situation, and admitted something was certainly in the works for the French club.
He said: “Like I’ve said publicly a number of times, I’m in talks with buyers for a moment. The club’s sale is moving forward well and things have even accelerated and intensified with the City Football Group, who are very precise and very meticulous in their analysis of the club. We’ll see, but it’s premature to announce anything.”
The club president added that he hoped something would happen ‘in the next few days or the next few weeks’, but taking into account failed deals in the past, he didn’t want to get ahead of himself.
Should the City Football Group complete the takeover, they would add AS Nancy Lorraine to a portfolio already containing Manchester City, New York City FC, Mumbai City FC, Melbourne City FC, Montevideo City Torque, as well as Girona FC, Sichuan Jiuniu FC and a 20% share in Yokohama F. Marinos.
Who knows, maybe Pep Guardiola will be trying his hand at Ligue 1 football next and trying to topple Paris Saint-Germain in 10 years time once enough investment has been made?
