<p>SUNDERLAND, England — The purchase of third-tier English club Sunderland was completed Thursday by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, whose family previously owned French team Marseille.</p>
<p>Louis-Dreyfus, who is in his early 20s, takes a controlling interest of a club whose 10-year stay in the Premier League ended in 2017. It also was the subject of a Netflix series — “Sunderland ’Til I Die” — that documented its recent tumble down the divisions.</p>
<p>“Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter in Sunderland’s history,” said Louis-Dreyfus, who will be the club’s chairman, “and although the current landscape facing football dictates that there are challenges to overcome, I am confident that together we can weather the present storm and put solid foundations in place to bring sustainable and long-term success to the club.”</p>
<p>The takeover was finalized after getting approval from the English Football League. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but former owner Stewart Donald said in a statement that the club is “debt-free,” having been “nearly 200 million pounds ($280 million) in debt” when he bought it from American businessman Ellis Short in 2018.</p>
<p>Donald is one of three people retaining a minority shareholding in Sunderland as part of the deal.</p>
<p>Louis-Dreyfus’ family founded the Swiss-based Louis-Dreyfus Group in the 19th century and owned Marseille for almost 20 years before selling the club in 2016. </p>
<p>Robert Louis-Dreyfus, Kyril’s father, was Marseille’s majority owner for more than a decade until his death in 2009. Kyril’s mother, billionaire businesswoman Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, sold the club to American businessman Frank McCourt in 2016.</p>
<p>Sunderland is in seventh place in the 24-team League One, one point off the playoff spots after 27 of 46 games.</p>
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