This Wednesday, Antoine Arnault presented to the press the plan to buy Paris FC, via the family holding company, Agache. A speech of which RMC Sport takes you behind the scenes.
The meeting was made in the heart of the 8th arrondissement of Paris, at the headquarters of the Berluti brand of which Antoine Arnault is the president. We are welcomed by his assistant who places us in a room with thick carpet and where pairs of shoes from the famous brand sit on the shelves. At the scheduled time, Antoine Arnault appears relaxed in jeans, turtleneck and jacket. When settling in, he deplores the absence of elements reminiscent of sport. “I’m going to get a Berluti football,” he says. He will place the object on a shelf just behind, a good reminder of his passion for football and the theme of the interview. The speech is fluid, the feeling that this project has been carefully thought through is palpable.
His passion and knowledge of football are beyond doubt. After 25 minutes of interview, he goes behind the camera to check “what it looks like”. He will extend the discussion for a few minutes to talk about football. On his relationship with Red Bull and the data of the Austrian group which impresses him: “They know in detail even our N3 players”. Antoine Arnault has attended all Paris FC matches at the Charléty stadium in Ligue 2 since the start of the season and no detail escapes him. He will notably give his analysis on the defensive sector of his team. After a quick glance at his watch, he slips away and makes an appointment for his press conference scheduled a few hours later.
An unusual crowd at the PFC
In Orly, at the Paris FC training center, the atmosphere is completely different. The calm of his Parisian offices gives way to his first football crowd. Nearly 80 journalists and photographers are present in the building usually reserved for young people at the Parisian training center. “It’s 40 times more than the average attendance at a PFC press conference,” jokes a club follower. Business media came in force, even Spanish journalists made the trip. “One of the biggest fortunes in the world and a city like Paris is always of interest.”
Antoine Arnault is accompanied by Pierre Ferracci, the current president of Paris FC, and has been for 15 years. The two men speak informally to each other, and really seem to like each other, and take turns answering journalists' questions. Rai, club ambassador, is also there and poses with the two men for the photographers. Antoine Arnault admits that it was one of the players who made him dream when he was a young man, since the future owner of Paris FC does not hide his love of Paris Saint-Germain, of which he has been a subscriber since he was 12 years old. The Parisian coach Stéphane Gili, discreet, listens to the future owner's congratulations on the game put in place and on his position as leader of Ligue 2. Antoine Arnault will then disappear upstairs to give a few face-to-face interviews drop by drop. He already knew the location having toured the Paris FC employees several weeks previously.
Aurélien Tiercin, with Loïc Briley
