Acquires English club Burnley<\/span> through Velocity Sports Partners, the sports arm of his investment firm ALK Capital.<\/p>\nPace said of Espanyol: “I want not only this club, but any club I play for, to have the ambition to win the Champions League, but that is an ambition and it may come true long after I am dead.” “But we’d better put things in place to make that possible. We need to change our mindset to say that’s what we want.”<\/p>\n
He said that in the short term, Espanyol’s success was to become one of Spain’s “top six” clubs, which would give them the best chance of qualifying for European competition.<\/p>\n
The club has struggled in recent seasons, bouncing back from being relegated twice and narrowly avoiding a third relegation last season. They got off to a strong start this season, finishing in 9th place in La Liga with just two losses in eight games.<\/p>\n
Former NFL star JJ Watt, whom Pace called a “good friend,” is also involved in the new ownership group, which bought a controlling stake in Espanyol from Chinese group Laster, which became a minority shareholder in July.<\/p>\n
Espanyol has not released financial details of the sale.<\/p>\n
open the door to the world<\/h2>\n
Pace said one of the keys to closing the gap on crosstown rivals Barcelona is to take cues from Espanyol’s fierce rivals and aim to grow overseas.<\/p>\n
Pace said he hoped his expertise could help Espanyol think even bigger, possibly drawing more people to the stadium over the holidays.<\/p>\n
“Bar\u00e7a has grown more because of people who are not from Barcelona than because of local people,” Pace said. “The tourists who come here are not necessarily Bar\u00e7a fans. They want to see the best possible football. Many tourists come here, but they should at least have the opportunity to get to know us and visit us.”<\/p>\n
Pace, 57, said he had “dreamed” of one day owning a club in Barcelona ever since he fell in love with the city while attending business school there in the early 1990s. He said he made lasting friendships and his family spent summers in Barcelona. His eldest daughter married someone she met there.<\/p>\n
He said his “big, big connections” with Barcelona definitely led him to look here when he wanted to expand his investment.<\/p>\n
Pace, a former Wall Street banker, said he and his team would be ready if Burnley and Espanyol were to play in the same European competition. UEFA rules prohibit the same owner from having two teams in the same competition across Europe.<\/p>\n
“I would have to leave one of the clubs, if not both at the same time,” he said. \u201cThere are plans in place for what we have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to his time as manager of Burnley, Pace bought and ran Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake from 2006 to 2008, turning it around.<\/p>\n
Espanyol’s 125-year history<\/h2>\n
Pace said he wants to create “history” for Espanyol, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year.<\/p>\n
One of La Liga’s founding teams, Espanyol has spent most of its history in the First Division. The club, known as the Parakeets because of its blue and white team colors, has more than 32,000 members and its modern stadium on Barcelona’s south side has been chosen to host the 2030 World Cup.<\/p>\n
Espanyol’s greatest success has been the Copa del Rey, which they have won four times. They reached the Europa League final twice, but lost both times.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP Soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
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