Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net
(Credit: Hasan Karim - Breaking Media, Getty)
Oliver Walton
Thu 31 July 2025 17:53, UK
Chelsea’s recent handling of Mamadou Sarr’s move from Strasbourg has raised eyebrows among fans, and new revelations have now emerged over why his transfer took place this summer.
Chelsea and Strasbourg are both owned by BlueCo, which is a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, making them sister clubs by default.
The legitimacy of the relationship between the Blues and their French counterparts has been the subject of fierce debate among fans online in recent years, especially after Crystal Palace were recently demoted to the Conference League after they breached UEFA rules on multi-club ownership with Lyon.
Chelsea have frequently done business with the Ligue 1 side due to their shared ownership, with Djordje Petrovic and Andrey Santos moving there on loan last season, while Mike Penders and Kendry Paez have joined them this summer.
Enzo Maresca’s side signed centre-back Sarr from Strasbourg last month for £12million [BBC], and are set to loan him back straight away, and fresh developments have revealed why BlueCo chose to make his a permanent move rather than simply keeping him at the French club.
Todd Boehly leads the consortium that owns both Chelsea and Strasbourg (Credit: Getty Images)
Sarr featured once off the bench for Chelsea in their triumphant Club World Cup campaign, but despite signing an eight-year deal at Stamford Bridge, Fabrizio Romano (20 July) has reported that the 21-year-old is soon set to return to Strasbourg on a season-long loan for 2025/26.
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES
The Telegraph (31 July) have now revealed that the Blues chose to do the deal this way for two reasons, the first being so Sarr could spend a month at the CWC with Chelsea, training with the first team and getting used to the environment with a big club at a major tournament.
As well as that, the other reason is because BlueCo’s expectation is that he would have been more expensive to sign permanently next summer.
Chelsea are bound by Premier League fair market value rules on transfers made Strasbourg, and so with another season of Ligue 1 and European experience under his belt, the Blues would likely have had to pay a much bigger fee than £12m to sign him in 2026.
Football Insider verdict
With Sarr now set to return to France for another campaign of much-needed game-time and development under Liam Rosenior, it is clear why Chelsea have been so insistent on sending their young players out to Strasbourg for financial reasons.
Serbian international keeper Petrovic joined the club on loan last season and impressed massively, and he has now been sold on for around £25m [BBC] to Bournemouth, which is a clear profit from the £14m [Sky Sports] they spent to sign him in 2023.
AppearancesGoals concededClean sheets313810Petrovic’s 2024/25 stats at Strasbourg
Brazilian midfielder Santos is another who was a standout for Rosenior’s side in 2024/25 during his loan spell from Stamford Bridge, and he now looks set to be sold for profit too, with a breakthrough into Enzo Maresca’s squad unlikely.
Penders, Paez and Sarr will now all feature for Strasbourg in 2025/26, and even if none of them are able to make their mark on the Blues’ first-team in the future, recent history implies that they are likely to make Chelsea money following their loan spell, which is a clear sign of the model working well.
Related Posts
For more news relating to Chelsea, visit our sister site Chelsea Latest Live.
![[Valid RSS]](../valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")