MONDAY’S QUESTION – Posted in Strasbourg, Liam Rosenior should continue the season on the bench of Chelsea, which has the same owner as the Alsatian club. Enough to question the credibility of the project in Racing.
Rain and sun mix. However, no sign of a rainbow in Alsace. The football showers play with the mood of Racing supporters, who have just seen their coach pack up. Strasbourg is 7e of Ligue 1 at mid-season, finished at the top of the first round of the Conference League (6 wins, 1 draw) and remains in contention in the Coupe de France. But Liam Rosenior has been sent on a new mission, like it or not.
The 41-year-old English coach, who convinced in his first season in Alsace, is about to take over from Enzo Maresca at Chelsea. And this with the feeling that Strasbourg did nothing to keep him. Or rather, couldn’t do anything. This type of change was predictable, if not inevitable, since the takeover of the club in June 2023 by BlueCo, which had acquired Chelsea a year earlier.
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For a Strasbourg resident, moving to Chelsea is a promotion
The American consortium thus reinforces its detractors in the following idea: Strasbourg is only the branch, or even the puppet, of Chelsea. This multi-ownership allows the Blues to “make bets on young players before they cost too much”Vincent Chaudel, sports economist and founder of the Sports Business Observatory, explained to us last summer.
During the last summer transfer window, three Londoners were loaned to Racing, and three others were transferred there. Including former England international Ben Chilwell, released from his contract with the Blues on August 31 to join Alsace. Under the leadership of BlueCo, Strasbourg has built one of the youngest teams in Europe (22.6 years on average). Knowing that, for the best elements, a promotion to Chelsea was likely. Thus, last September, the departure of Strasbourg captain Emmanuel Emegha for London was made official… for the summer of 2026.
For him, as for Rosenior, it is difficult to criticize. Their employer was never Strasbourg, but BlueCo. Going to the Premier League means the prospect of a tenfold increase in salary, a unique adventure in the most prestigious of football championships and also a return home for the coach, born in the English capital. Marc Keller, historic president of Racing, which he knowingly sold to BlueCo, must now find a coach during the season, when everything was going well, when the game project was holding up. It’s not a matter of starting from scratch, but close.
Chelsea is a global brand and RCSA is an important club in France. The idea is not to abandon one club for another.
Marc Keller, president of Strasbourg, at Le Figaro in October 2025
“We said we were the feeder club. That’s not the right term.”defended Keller in our columns two months ago, preferring to talk about “sister clubs”. “We try to help each other in the same family”he underlined, recalling that seeing some of these promising players (Emegha, Barco, Amougou…) in Bas-Rhin would be «impossible» without being “backed by financial power”. “The idea is not to abandon one club for another”swore the 57-year-old leader, arguing that “Chelsea is a global brand and RCSA is an important club in France”. Implied: Strasbourg can aim high, but never higher than its “big brother”.
The overall discourse will take a turn for the worse if Rosenior’s successor does not maintain the good momentum, and the discontent of the supporters, already visible by hostile banners and chanting strikes at the start of the season, will increase. Are the massive investments, in the transfer window or in infrastructure, and Keller’s efforts to maintain Alsatian identity enough to maintain independence? The terrain will quickly regain the upper hand. The next Racing coach will start with a tricky trip to Avranches (National), in 16es of the Coupe de France final on Saturday. An exit against a third division club would be a stain. Even if it’s not Chelsea’s problem.
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