City Football Group Complete Takeover of ESTAC Troyes
By Tom Gott
City Football Group have confirmed the acquisition of French Ligue 2 side Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC).
The group, which is best known for its ownership of Manchester City, also have clubs based in eight other countries: New York City in the US, Melbourne City FC in Australia, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Montevideo City Torque in Uruguay, Girona FC in Spain, Sichuan Jiuniu FC in China, Mumbai City FC in India and Lommel SK in Belgium.
City Football Group has today announced that Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), in France’s Ligue 2, has become its tenth club, following DNCG review of the acquisition.
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ESTAC have now become the tenth club under CFG's ownership, with the group confirming on their official website that they had bought out the shares of former owner Daniel Masoni.
“We have had an interest in French football for some time and have long admired ESTAC, so we are delighted to have completed the acquisition of our tenth club and have a permanent presence in France," said CFG executive Ferran Soriano.
"This is a milestone for City Football Group and demonstrates how our model continues to adapt and grow in a relatively short space of time.
“At City Football Group, our objective remains to play beautiful football, identify and develop grassroots talent and have a permanent presence in the world’s football centres. There is no doubt that France is one of the top football countries in the world and we are proud to be part of that community.
"We look forward to getting to know our new home and the Club’s fans and working together to create a bright future for ESTAC. We would also like to thank Mr Masoni for all his contributions to the Club”.
ESTAC ended the 2019/20 season in fourth place in Ligue 2 and were playing in the top flight as recently as 2017/18, and CFG will hope to help the club cement a place in Ligue 1 after years of hopping between the two divisions.
ESTAC, who used to be known as Troyes, do have some history with English football. They won the 2001 Intertoto Cup which included an enthralling 4-4 draw with Newcastle United, and they even managed a win over Leeds United in their ultimately unsuccessful UEFA Cup campaign the following season.