Burnley owner Alan Pace has again insisted that they won’t clash with his new purchase Espanyol.
AS cover comments from the businessman today after he returned to Barcelona on Thursday for a series of interviews.
He held a meeting at Burnley college last Tuesday during which he spoke to Clarets fans about Espanyol and his plans for both clubs. He then returned to Barcelona to hold a Fan Forum with Espanyol fans to discuss the same topic.
Pace became the owner of the Catalan club earlier this month, finalising a takeover that had been months in the making.
At his presentation at the club, he insisted the two clubs would be working together in future. He has been using the word ‘synergy’ consistently regarding the relationship between the two clubs.
He appears determined to avoid Espanyol fans becoming concerned they may find themselves as a feeder club to Burnley. That’s become a pressing issue for other clubs in Europe after similar takeovers.
The obvious one is Strasbourg, whose fans have openly protested their relationship with Chelsea in recent months. Pace is clearly keen to avoid that, and his latest comments are further proof of that.
“(They) aren’t going to clash, they’re going to complement each other,” he said.
“We haven’t moved a tonne of people from Burnley to Spain, or from Spain to Burnley, because each club will operate on its own. We’ll do things together, like friendlies. We must learn to be good cousins.”