Freshly re-elected as president of the LFP, Vincent Labrune is facing a colossal task. The clubs are demanding a more reasonable standard of living from the body and are hoping to recover at least 50 million euros.
Despite a real plebiscite during his re-election at the head of the Professional Football League with 84% of the votes against Cyril Linette, Vincent Labrune remains under pressure. The president of the LFP is expected at the turning point by the presidents of the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs, including those who voted for him. His management of the sale of TV rights has been defended by multiple leaders of French football who believe that given the context, no one would have done better. On the other hand, there is one crucial point on which Vincent Labrune is expected: the colossal lifestyle of the LFP, whose costs have exploded to reach 272 ME for this season against 156 ME last season.
“Clubs can’t always take on everything. Everything increases except what we perceive” whispers a Ligue 1 president in the columns of L’Equipe. The national daily also reveals that this Wednesday, a meeting is to be held between the teams of the League, its subsidiary LFP-Media and a working group composed of several leaders (Caillot, Létang, Chabane, Joannin), who are responsible for carrying out an audit on the lifestyle of the League. The idea is to examine all the budget lines of the LFP in order to make all the possible and imaginable savings. “Everything is on the table and today we must keep only what is essential” confides a French manager. A social plan at the League is not inconceivable while the workforce has increased from 77 to 137 employees.
LFP must find more than 50 ME
Another crucial point will be addressed in the coming days, the remuneration of Vincent Labrune, which is currently 1.2 million euros per year. A salary that the former president of OM had promised to reduce before being re-elected president of the LFP and that he should keep without making a fuss. Within the League, we hope to recover at least 10 ME thanks to various savings here and there. A figure far from the hopes of the club presidents, who are counting on more than 50 ME in savings. For Ligue 2 alone, Bernard Joannin (president of Amiens) hopes to recover 1.5 ME per club, or 27 ME in total for the second division. If Ligue 1 wants to recover the same amount, which would be logical, that would mean that the LFP will have to find more than 50 ME in savings. Enough to give Vincent Labrune a few more gray hairs.
