I have been passionate about Football for a long time, as have two of my brothers, Frédéric and Alexandre. With my brothers and my sister, we agreed that the ideal would be to look at a club that is not already very established to be able to build our history. We looked at different files, from afar without contacting the clubs, like Reims or Bordeaux. And very quickly, the Paris FC project fell apart. There was great sporting potential.
We have some form of expertise in the management and organization of fashion houses, leather goods, cosmetic perfumes, wines and spirits, but in sports management we are still quite new. We know, through our partnership with Formula 1 and with our watch brands, the Red Bull house which also has real expertise in club development.
What was Bernard Arnault’s view on this choice?
We do everything as a family and there is a head of the family who makes the final decision. He was very supportive. Football, it must be admitted that it is less his domain than tennis or business, but he likes sport in general. As an astute businessman, he realized that Paris FC had development potential. We must recognize that we are probably the only city in Europe to have one big club and not two or three.
Is this an unusual investment for the Arnault family?
It's different from other investments and at the same time it's not really part of the family's habits to waste money. We are well aware that in the first years we will have to invest and that the investment will be significant and therefore by definition not profitable. But the idea is really to achieve a form of economic balance and to promote the club, to develop it so that it is a profitable business.
What are your plans for Paris FC?
Even before our arrival, the objective was to climb to Ligue 1 in the next two years. Of course we would prefer that he goes up this year. We are based on the existing team and we are not going to arrive by injecting three football stars. The objective is to be in this long term which characterizes us in almost everything we do in terms of luxury. The Paris area is the leading pool of footballing talent in the world, on par with Sao Paulo. We will try to create a training center which will allow these young footballers to blossom and play fairly quickly in a good club.
Will Paris FC lose its popular aspect?
It's not at all the idea of eliminating the popular side, that's really what makes up the soul of this club. Free access will continue at least this year. We will have extremely attractive prices when we are in League 1 or even a free section which will continue because it is part of the DNA of the club.
Which stadium to play in?
