American businessman Alan Pace officially acquires RCD Espanyol football team

American businessman Alan Pace's Velocity Sports Partners (VSP), the sports investment arm of ALK Capital, officially acquired the second-largest football team in Catalonia, RCD Espanyol, on Thursday.

The agreement means that the blanc-i-blaus will change ownership after Chinese businessman Chen Yansheng has owned the Barcelona team for the past nine years.

Early in July, there were reports of the sale for almost €200 million to the investment fund owned by Alan Pace. These reports were later confirmed in mid-July, when the Cornellà-El Prat-based club announced that the Chinese RASTAR group, the owner of the club at the time, had reached a deal to "become a shareholder of the holding and to take part in a strategic alliance that will place RCD Espanyol at the same level as [English team] Burnley FC, the only team of the [investing] group until now."

With the acquisition of a majority shareholding in RCD Espanyol, VSP marks a "significant milestone" as it expands its footprint into Spanish football. VSP currently owns Burnley FC in the English Premier League.

The statement reads that the "meticulous process has reinforced a deep admiration for the club's rich history, its loyal fanbase, and its profound connection to the local community."

"Football has always belonged to its people," said Alan Pace, managing partner of ALK Capital and chairman of Burnley FC. "Our role is not to replace legacy, but to build upon it, with care, with clarity, and with purpose."

Pace, in a written statement, said, "This is not about ownership; it's about stewardship. Burnley will remain Burnley. Espanyol will remain Espanyol. Each club will retain its own leadership, identity, independence, and decision-making, run by its own people, for its own supporters."

Among Velocity Sports Partners' goals, there are investing in "world-class academies and infrastructure," with the idea of achieving "long-term footballing success on and off the field."

In a video addressed to Espanyol supporters, Alan Pace said in Spanish that the "day has come."

It is a "great honor" to lead Espanyol, and he has great respect for the club's history, its people, and all that it represents.

Pace said that the idea is to work daily for those who are part of the Espanyol family and that they will "build a future that is at the level of the club's history."