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MARSEILLE - Robert Louis-Dreyfus, the main shareholder
in Olympique Marseille, died on Saturday, sources close to the
Ligue 1 club said.
"Robert Louis-Dreyfus died in a Zurich hospital where he was
treated for leukaemia," the sources added.
French League chairman Frederic Thiriez paid tribute to
Louis-Dreyfus.
"His love for soccer and his passion for Olympique Marseille
were stronger than anything else." he said in a statement. "We are
going to miss him sorely. My thoughts go to his family, to
Olympique Marseille and to their fantastic supporters."
The 63-year-old businessman and former owner of sportswear maker
Adidas took control of Marseille in 1997 and according to French
media reports, invested more than 200 million euros in the
club.
He was also the main shareholder in the Louis Dreyfus
commodities group which is among the world's leading merchandisers
and traders of agricultural commodities.
"I'm very sad because a great businessman who also was a
fantastic man died today and because he had such a love for our
sport and for Olympique Marseille," Olympique Lyon chairman
Jean-Michel Aulas told radio France Info.
Jean-Louis Triaud, chairman of Girondins Bordeaux, who pipped
Marseille for the Ligue 1 title this season hailed Louis-Dreyfus as
a man who "threw himself completely into Olympique Marseille."