Football: Paris FC soon to be bought by LVMH and Red Bull?

There was a time when, in Paris, three clubs played in the first division championship. In the 1970s, Red Star, Paris FC (PFC) and the very young Paris Saint-Germain held their place among the elite. And then, over time, only PSG remained at the highest level seeing its two competitors tumble to the lower divisions.

Today, Red Star, which could be bought by PagsGroup LLC after the bankruptcy of the investment fund 777 Partners, and Paris FC are both playing in Ligue 2 while PSG, a Qatari version of the financial mammoth, monopolizes the titles. in Ligue 1, but still remains in search of success on the European scene.

This could all change quite quickly.

So the daily the Team has just revealed that PSG, bought thirteen years ago by QSI, could in the near future find a worthy competitor: Paris FC. Currently leader of Ligue 2, the PFC is reportedly on the verge of being bought by the Arnault family (LVMH) and Red Bull. Negotiations led by Antoine Arnault, general manager of Christian Dior, and Frédéric, his brother, deputy general manager of Financière Agache, the family holding company, are reportedly going well.

The two partners, in this case the Arnault family holding company and Red Bull, would be on the verge of taking 55 and 15% of the club’s shares respectively, against 30% from Pierre Ferracci, a 72-year-old businessman and current owner of the club. Ile-de-France.

A real thunderbolt in the landscape of Parisian and even French football. After rumors of investments in Italian clubs such as AC Milan or Fiorentina, Bernard Arnault (5^e world fortune according to Forbes) via the family holding company would initially invest 200 million euros and could, from the next winter transfer window, offer the PFC some significant reinforcements.

However, unlike what happened at the beginning of the 1990s with Matra Racing led by Jean-Luc Lagardère, who, after having exploded the French transfer market, ended up with his beak in the water, no question to skip the steps for this new team. The club from the south of the capital wants to join the Ligue 1 era before dreaming of Europe.

Greater visibility on a European scale

This is undoubtedly why the Red Bull group, the energy drink brand, entered the dance. He already owns the clubs of Leipzig (Germany), Salzburg (Austria) and New York (United States) and therefore has great expertise when it comes to sport or football.

The Austrian group has just appointed Jürgen Klopp, former coach of Liverpool FC, as head of its football division. A guarantee if there is one of know-how, particularly in the training and search for young talents.

This upcoming revolution for French football could allow it to be offered greater visibility on a European scale and undoubtedly greater television rights. It remains to find a stadium commensurate with this project. The Charléty stadium and its 19,000 seats would not meet such specifications. Jean-Bouin with an agreement from Stade Français? The Parc des Princes, if PSG builds its own stadium? Everything is possible.