Champions League: "Rennes intends to be a very annoying outsider"

Without playing, Rennes had the pleasure of being directly qualified Tuesday evening for the group stage (20 October-9 December) by recovering the ticket for the Champions League reserved for the winner of the Europa League - the four semi-finalists Seville , Donetsk, Manchester United and Inter Milan having already obtained theirs in the league.

Appointed president on March 20 to replace Olivier Létang, Nicolas Holveck thus received a rather gratifying welcome gift when he saw Rennes win this historic first qualification in the Champions League. He expects a delicate, but terribly exciting, season.

What was your first reaction when you heard the good news for Stade Rennais on Tuesday evening?

NICOLAS HOLVECK. On the goal of Ocampos (Editor's note: the goal of Seville's 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton, synonymous with a ticket to the Champions League for Rennes) , we jumped for joy but it remained fairly measured. This is a huge inner joy for the group, the staff and all the administrative staff. My first thought was for the shareholder. For 22 years, he has given a lot of his time, his passion and his money also to Stade Rennais. Today, it is a fair reward for the Pinault family.

What benefits does Rennes intend to derive from a first participation in the Champions League?

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This is a huge focus on the club. In terms of notoriety, it is quite exceptional. It helps to be more convincing in the discussions with some of the players we want to bring in. For our young people too, it will be an incredible experience. Who says Champions League, says Youth League and therefore six matches against very high level teams. This will save us a lot of time with the young generation concerned this season. For the city, the region and our supporters, it is also an extraordinary moment.

New tune at Roazhon Park. 🎵
--- # AllezRennes # ToutDonner 💪🔴⚫ pic.twitter.com/yhIAtEfA3W

What impact will this qualification have on your transfer window?

On current targets, this will not change anything. We already had important ambitions, the shareholder wanting us to have a good team. We will therefore continue to constitute the group with the three positions already targeted (Editor's note: two central defenders and an axial attacker) . But we saved time, which will allow us to stay on the lookout for opportunities that will present themselves to us at the end of the transfer window.

Is this presence in the Champions League likely to make players think about solicited by other clubs, such as M'Baye Niang or Eduardo Camavinga?

For those who are already there as for those who will come, the appreciation of next season is obviously not at all the same ...

This manna of 28 million euros (minimum amount for clubs participating in the group stages), what does it represent for a club like yours?

It is already between 15 or 18 million more than the Europa League. Thanks to the shareholder, we were able to take the risk of anticipating part of this budget to be competitive in the event of a qualifying round to be contested. Now we have this budget. We will therefore be able to move forward in the transfer window more quietly and obtain this player or these two additional players.

Will Stade Rennais be big enough to lead Ligue 1 and Champions League head-on?

It's going to be a very complicated season because from the October break, we will play every three days until the end of February. That's why we like the metrics for the 20 players on the bench and the five changes.

At this stage, what is your ambition for Rennes in this group stage?

We can come across an impossible group with Real Madrid, Manchester City and Inter Milan. The draw (Editor's note: October 1) will have an impact on what we can hope for or not. But we intend to be a very annoying outsider for such clubs. Julien Stephan is extremely motivated and he can't wait to do battle with this type of team.