Russian billionaire wants to sell Cercle Brugge

Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev has hired specialist US investment bank Raine Group to explore the sale of two of his football clubs. This concerns Cercle Brugge and AS Monaco.

This was reported by the business newspapers Les Echos from France and De Tijd from Belgium.

The Russian owner, who lives in Monaco, would like to know how much he can get for AS Monaco. He is not part of the sanctions regime against many Russian oligarchs. He bought the club in 2011. He owns 97 percent of Cercle Brugge, a mid-tier in the Belgian league.

It won’t make him very rich, insiders think. AS Monaco attracts few fans and the French league is the smallest of the five major European leagues. Attempts to sell the media rights of French football league Ligue 1 failed due to lack of interest.