Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet says people take a risk in football when they own foreign clubs.
Speaking at a press conference in Belgium today, where he announced that he had bought back Sint-Truiden, the millionaire also revealed his partner Marieke Höfte will be the president.
And it will make her the first female president at a football club in Belgium.
Duchatelet told the press that having a foreign buyer take control of Sint-Truiden was never an option.
The 69-year-old said: “With one owner, for example, from Thailand, you take a risk as they don’t know the football culture.
“Look at England, where the foreign owners are not all a success.”
After selling Sint-Truiden in 2011, and then flogging off Standard Liege last summer, News Shopper understands that Duchatelet has been desperate to own another club in his homeland.
However, he added: “It was not my intention to return to Belgian football.
“But, the stadium has always been ours and so it is easy to have an entity that controls the whole [club].
“I’m back, but I’ve never been gone – I’ve always lived here [in Belgium].”
Duchatelet will be focusing on the football team, while Höfte will be more involved with the business side of the club.
Höfte said: “We were the best option to buy back the shares from Bart Lammens [the former owner of Sint-Truiden].
“Many people thought that I was already the president, but only now is that true.
“I’ll be involved in the organisational aspect of the club and Roland will focus on the sporting side.”
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