On the verge of changing dimension with the takeover of the club by the Arnault family and Red Bull, Paris FC assumes its ambition to compete with PSG in the long term. A rivalry that Nasser Al-Khelaïfi would also see favorably.
President of Paris FC until 2027, unless Jean-Michel Aulas leaves early, Pierre Ferracci will sell part of his shares in the coming days to the powerful French Arnault family (LVMH group) as well as to Red Bull. With such shareholders, Paris FC necessarily has big ambitions, but intends to take its time and is already giving itself two years to move up to Ligue 1. A mission within the reach of Paris FC, which is currently leader of Ligue 2 after 13 days , but with little lead over its competitors.
“Two big clubs in Paris, it’s perfectly viable”
Guest of L'Equipe du Soir on Tuesday, Pierre Ferracci spoke at length about the new Paris FC project and is convinced that two major football clubs can coexist in the capital: “Yes, it’s perfectly viable, of course. First of all, I think that there will be a change of pace as soon as we are in Ligue 1. The problem with Paris is that when you are in National, you do not exist. Neither Paris FC, nor Red Star, nor Créteil. When you are in Ligue 2, you start to show your head. You have to be in Ligue 1 to exist. Not only because PSG has been crushing everything for 40 years, with considerable firepower, and even more since Qatar has been there, but because there are all the other shows and all the other sports that make Paris attracts. But I believe that there is space for two clubs with different identities, with different cultures. »
“I think we will never be PSG, even with the Arnault family”
To find an audience and create excitement around its project, Paris FC is well aware that the question of club identity will be central and the Arnault family's plan is obviously to play the French and Ile-de-France card: “I think that we will never be PSG, even with the Arnault family, and that the way of progressing the club's project will be very important for the family, to distinguish itself, to not skip ahead, says Ferracci. To probably play the training card a little more than the club next door played it, because they were in a hurry, I don't make a value judgment. But yes, there is space. »
Paris FC wants to take inspiration from Atalanta Bergamo
“I think that the construction of Paris FC will go more through an Atalanta Bergamo type model initially, added Ferracci. Afterwards, if the Arnault family wants to go very, very high, that is to say one day winning the Champions League, it will also have to be done with a mixture of young people trained in the Paris region and then a few stars. Of course we will go through that, but perhaps the desire is that the stars of tomorrow at Paris FC are young people from the club's training. »
“First of all, we will not be the anti-PSG, we will simply have a different positioning”
Determined to present itself as an alternative to PSG, can Paris FC really brandish the card of a popular club with one of the richest families in the world at its head? “First of all, we will not be the anti-PSG, we will simply have a different positioning, Ferracci retorts. There are things that PSG does that I respect a lot. They created a beautiful brand out of nowhere. They have produced high-level players, geniuses: Messi, Neymar… I think we can do something different without being directly opposed to PSG. I think that the future will be a perhaps more accentuated mix of nuggets from training and then stars who will come elsewhere. The Arnault family wants a backbone from the Ile-de-France region and at the same time a club open to the outside world: the French provinces and also abroad. »
“Everyone understood that the derby was interesting for everyone”
If Paris FC does not want to be the anti-PSG, it in any case assumes its desire to have, in the long term, a real sporting rivalry with its neighbor, as Ferracci confirmed: “Of course, everyone understood that the derby was interesting for everyone and I think Nasser (Al-Khelaïfi) understood that too. This will do PSG good. For the moment, we are not there. For the moment, our daily life is Rodez, Martigues, Lorient, Dunkirk… But in the long term, this is the ambition we can have. »
Finally, Pierre Ferracci also raised in L'Equipe du Soir the central question of the future Paris FC stadium. Jean Bouin, Charléty, the Parc des Princes, several options are possible. Find his speech on this subject here.
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