For days, there has been speculation as to whether Red Bull will succeed in its next coup after signing Jürgen Klopp by taking over shares in Paris FC. Now the signs are intensifying – and causing mixed feelings in the club’s environment.
Paris FC are currently doing well in Ligue 2. After eight games, the capital city club is top of the table, ahead of last year’s relegated team FC Lorient. And the club, which last played in the top division in the 1978/79 season, also seems to be doing well financially. For days now, rumors have been circulating that Red Bull now wants to get involved in Paris as well. But that’s not all: Bernard Arnault, the richest Frenchman, is also said to be willing to take on shares with his company LVMH.
For the club’s fans, the situation is causing mixed feelings. “We don’t want to become Red Bull Paris,” said a spokesperson for the Ultras in an interview with Le Parisien. The club’s values would suffer an “enormous blow” as a result. In addition, there is a certain skepticism in the club’s environment about a “conflict of interest that one club is placed above the other.” In other words, Paris FC should not become a training club for other teams from the RB cosmos like RB Leipzig.
No renaming – but big goals
A renaming of the club has now been ruled out by President Pierre Ferracci, who is to continue to hold 30 percent of the shares. Rather, the Parisians are to benefit financially from Arnault and RB’s takeover of shares, and with time, a lavish budget is to allow them to mature into a challenger for city rivals PSG. Plans that are causing “a lot of optimism and a little concern” among the Ultras.
According to the AFP news agency, however, Red Bull is “only” taking over 15 percent of the club’s shares. The Arnault family, whose LVMH brand is the most valuable listed company in France, will receive a full 55 percent. The deal is to be announced on Thursday, and Red Bull would thus be represented in three of the top five leagues, following in the footsteps of RB Leipzig and Leeds United, where the group entered a few months ago.
The new financial opportunities are not causing much excitement among the city rivals, who are not exactly broke either. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the boss of city rivals Paris Saint-Germain, was unperturbed by the bold plans: “This is great for Paris, great for French football.”