Why sell Paris FC and how did you choose the new shareholders?
I always said that when we approach Ligue 1 (the PFC is first in Ligue 2 after 8 days, editor’s note), the objective would then be to remain in the elite in the long term. And there, the championship is divided into two camps: those who do not want to go down and those who play for Europe. We would therefore be in competition with Monaco owned by a Russian billionaire, PSG owned by Qatar, Marseille owned by an American who invested hundreds of millions of euros, Rennes owned by the Pinault family. (the Kering group which owns Gucci, Yves Saint-Laurent, Balenciaga…, editor’s note). We must therefore look for significant economic powers and I wanted them to be French or European, at a minimum. Unlike the Germans, I find that our big industrialists do not invest enough in football. I was lucky enough to receive the Arnault family file (the LVMH group which owns Dior, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Guerlain, Dom Pérignon…, editor’s note), associated with the Red Bull group, in addition: it’s the perfect solution… The best, in any case, and by quite a long way!
