Chelsea chair Todd Boehly is interested in buying Ligue 1 club Strasbourg.
Boehly already co-owns two basketball teams - Los Angeles Sparks and Los Angeles Lakers - as well as baseball side Los Angeles Dodgers. The American is looking to expand his sporting empire and has held talks with Strasbourg's president Marc Keller, who has been in charge of the French side since 2012, about a potential takeover.
Boehly has splashed the cash since his consortium completed a takeover of Chelsea last summer - investing close to £600million into the squad. That investment is yet to pay dividends, with Graham Potter's side languishing in 10th in the Premier League table.
As reported by GOAL, Boehly and his investment partners are keen on purchasing Strasbourg and would use the Ligue 1 outfit to loan Chelsea players to. The Blues boss is also considering purchasing a German club for that very same reason.
Multi-club ownership models are not uncommon. For example, the City Football Group - who own Manchester City - also own shares in New York City, Melbourne City, Montevideo City Torque, Troyes, Lommel, Mumbai City, Girona and others.
UEFA, however, are concerned about the impact multi-club ownership models are having on their club competitions. In theory, Chelsea could be drawn against Strasbourg in the Champions League, the Europa League or the Europa Conference League.
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UEFA are worried what would happen if that scenario was to unfold. As reported by the Financial Times, more than 180 teams across the world were part of a multi-club group by the end of of 2022. That number has increased by 40 since 2012.
UEFA highlighted their concerns earlier this month. They believe the trend of multi-club ownership is "being fuelled predominantly by US-based investors".
A statement read: "The rise of multi-club investment has the potential to pose a material threat to the integrity of European club competitions, with a growing risk of seeing two clubs with the same owner or investor facing each other on the pitch."
UEFA also believe multi-club ownership models have "the potential to distort" the transfer market because "an increasing percentage of transfers being executed within multi-club investment groups at prices that suit investors, rather than at fair values".
UEFA added: "Most movement of players within multi-club investment groups is via 'free transfers' or loans, meaning that no fees are paid."
Whether UEFA can actually stand in Boehly's way remains to be seen. The American's time in charge of Chelsea is not currently going to plan, although it is early days. Boehly replaced Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel with Potter in September and there is a chance they will miss out on European football next term.
The Blues are 11 points behind Tottenham, who they play on Sunday, in fourth with a game in hand - yet they are also just 11 points above the relegation zone. Chelsea's last chance of winning silverware this season is the Champions League, but they most overturn a 1-0 deficit in the second leg of their last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund on March 7.
