Olympique de Marseille could possibly benefit from a budget of €200M-€250M ($223M-$278M) next season, finances that “would allow it to compete with Lyon and Monaco,” but not Paris St. Germain, according to Gilles Festor of LE FIGARO. During the press conference
introducing Frank McCourt as the prospective buyer of OM for a reported €50M ($56M) on Monday, Marseille Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin “urged the American to inject fresh money into the club,” which had a ’16-17 budget of €122M (
LE FIGARO, 8/30). L’ÉQUIPE’s Vincent Garcia reported McCourt’s personal fortune is estimated to be €3B-€4B ($3.3B-$4.5B). McCourt has “promised to invest in the club, though he did not say much on the subject” at Monday’s press conference. How much would he invest? Before presenting his business plan to the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG), “it is difficult to say.” But from current OM Owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus’ camp “there is talk” of €200M-€250M next season, and a “further investment” of €50M ($56M) to €100M ($111M) per year for the following seasons. These amounts would “build a very decent team, but not exactly compete with Qatar and PSG.”
REACTIONS: French Professional Football League (LFP) General Dir Didier Quillot said, “He is wealthy and ambitious. I think it is good news for OM, as it is a stronghold for French football. … I also prefer someone that will invest their own money rather than an investment fund that will sell in a few years” (L’ÉQUIPE, 8/30). ECO FOOT’s Anthony Alyce reported Olympique Lyonnais Owner Jean-Michel Aulas believes that the arrival of a new foreign investor “illustrates a new attractiveness of Ligue 1, especially for int’l markets.” Aulas: “The arrival of a new investor at OM is a good thing. The fact that Americans are investing in France signifies that the idea of French clubs being unprofitable over the long run is falling away. Qataris at PSG, Russians at Monaco, Americans at OM, Chinese at OL (even as a minority shareholders)… we’re seeing that French football is gaining a certain credibility that it did not have before” (ECO FOOT, 8/30).
