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Courtois

Real Madrid stopper Courtois becomes shareholder of French club

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has become the latest shareholder in Ligue 2 club Le Mans, a statement by the French club has revealed. Belgium and Los Blancos legend Courtois joins tennis icon Novak Djokovic and F1 drivers Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen in their part-ownership of the project at Le Mans, who are looking to become a powerhouse in the game and have been compared to 'the French Wrexham'.

Frequently asked questions

West Ham United were founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks F.C, later renamed to West Ham United in 1900.

British businessman David Sullivan owns 38.8% stake in the club and co-owns West Ham with David Kretinsky of 1890s Holdings (27%), Vanessa Gold of Family Trust (25.1%), J. Albert Smith of WHU LLC (8%) and other investors (1.1%).

West Ham United play all their home games at the London Stadium, moving from their former home venue Boleyn Ground in 2016, which served the club's base for over a century. There are plans to expand London Stadium's capacity to 67,000.

The London Stadium has a capacity of 62,500, making it London's fourth-largest stadium.

West Ham have won five major honours during their history, which includes three FA Cups as well as the 2022-23 UEFA Conference League.

West Ham United have never won the English top-flight. Their best-ever finish was third position in the 1985-86 season of the-then English first division.

Former English defender Billy Bonds is West Ham's leading appearance maker of all-time, featuring for the club in 799 games across 21 seasons.

With 326 goals in 505 games, Vic Watson is the greatest goalscorer in the history of West Ham United.

Bobby Moore, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Mark Noble are among West Ham's biggest-ever stars, with the London side also famously once managing to lure Argentina internationals Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to the club.

Avram Grant, Alan Pardew, David Moyes, Gianfranco Zola, and Manuel Pellegrini are among the most acclaimed managers to have been at the helm for West Ham United.

West Ham United are nicknamed The Irons and The Hammers, a reference to the club's first name, Thames Ironworks F.C.