体坛英语新闻：OM sold to American McCourt

PARIS, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Ligue 1 members Olympique de Marseille announced Monday afternoon that Margarita Louis-Dreyfus has sold the club to former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

"Mr. Frank H. McCourt, Jr. and Ms. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus today have entered into exclusive discussions for the acquisition of the Olympique de Marseille football club by Mr. McCourt," read an official statement on the club's website.

"Details of the transaction were not disclosed," it added. "The objective is to complete the transaction before the end of the year, after consultation of the works council of Olympique de Marseille."

French media RMC, however, reported that "McCourt is understood to have paid north of 40 million euros to buy the club".

Russian born Louis-Dreyfus, who announced her decision to sell the top-flight team in April after 20 years with the club citing the side's poor form, has also met Marseille mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin together with McCourt to inform the transaction of ownership.

"Being a part of Olympique de Marseille and helping the club achieve success both on and off the pitch would be an honor and privilege for me and my family," McCourt told OM website.

"Now, a new era begins. To maintain an emotional connection between OM and my family, I would stay with the club and continue to support it as a small minority shareholder," Louis-Dreyfus said.

McCourt, 63 years old, purchased the Dodgers in 2004 for 430 million U.S. dollars financed mainly by debt, and ended up his ownership in 2011 when Major League Baseball seized the team from him due to finance concerns.