On the desk where he receives us is an autographed photo of Kylian Mbappé, behind him a jersey signed by all the players of the current squad. Memories of PSG are everywhere with the former president of the club. A two-year mandate (2006-2008) in the form of the culmination of a relationship born at the end of the 1970s between the club and the former advertiser. On the occasion of the 50 years of the Parisian club, Alain Cayzac has agreed to immerse himself in his memories.
How did the meeting with PSG go? ALAIN CAYZAC. I have always been immersed in the world of football since my father was president of the Evreux club for thirty years. When I was at HEC, I played n ° 10 in the school team with an average amateur level. There was also Bernard Brochand, the future mayor of Cannes. He was already introduced to PSG and he took me. I was a privileged supporter. It was thanks to him that I met the club. We went to training together, sometimes we played a bit with the players. I have known the turbulent youth of the club with Borelli, Hechter, Talar or Belmondo. Then I was administrator of the club from 1986.
Which led you to manage the sale of the club to Canal + in 1991… I participated in the sale with Bernard Brochand. He was close to Charles Biétry, me to Jean-Luc Lagardère. I had been to see him to offer him to buy back PSG. He didn't say no, he was following the discussions. But when I told him that Canal + was also interested, he told me it was better to do business with them. He was very fair. Afterwards, I experienced the Canal era until the Vivendi group decided that PSG was no longer a strategic asset.
What made you want to buy the club? I almost made the mistake of my life. With Francis Graille, we were ten minutes away from buying the club. Vivendi wanted 19 million francs. Me, I had only one and Graille the same. We found a guy who worked in ringing phones and was willing to put in ten million. By scratching a little, we had arrived at the sum that Canal wanted. With the editing we had done, we kept the management of the club. We had lots of preparation meetings and everything was ready. The morning when we were to see Bertrand Méheut and Alexandre Bompard (Editor's note: the directors of Canal +) , the guy who put in 10 million told me he was withdrawing. At that time, we really went in shorts (laughs) ! We clearly did not make a triumph during the meeting. Fortunately, because otherwise I would have been unable to return money to the club. And my wife would have divorced!
How do you find yourself as president of the club?
When Colony Capital took over the club, I didn't know its boss, Sébastien Bazin. He had been told that I looked like the composite image of the good president. He gave me a call from the United States, he was deep in Texas. I was in a nightclub in Courchevel. I couldn't hear anything he said to me. He called me back the next day, then the day after, to make sure he would be the only master on board. I agreed to take the presidency, but the problem was that we did not know each other at all and that we had a meeting with Matthieu Pigasse, the advisor of Canal +. Bazin came to pick me up at the office and we had twenty minutes to talk on the way to the meeting. We immediately felt that we were compatible, we quickly made friends with each other, and for Pigasse, we passed for old friends!
How do you sum up your time at the head of the club?
It is both exhilarating and exhausting. We are on the go from 7 am to midnight, weekends included. In the end, it's 95% bullshit and 5% fun. When we have good news with a victory, the next day there is a guy who is not happy, another who wants a raise. It fascinated me but it's totally stressful and exhausting.
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What are the biggest difficulties?
There is the dictatorship of the media that do not let go and that of public opinion. I was close to the supporters but they did not really have the notion of the resources we had. They would ask me to recruit stars but they couldn't hear when I told them I didn't have the money for. If you don't keep a cool head, they'll push you to make mistakes. There is also the short-term dictatorship. What the supporters want are results right away. Despite everything, I spent two exciting years at the head of the club. I don't regret them for a single minute.
What is the best memory of your mandate? In my time, the results were not extraordinary, even though we won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2008. So my best memory remains the victory in Sochaux (2-1) in the spring of 2008 on a goal by Amara Diané, the one that allows us to save our place in L1. I still had the title of president, even though Michel Moulin had been appointed advisor because of the poor results. But I knew that if by some misfortune the PSG went down, it would be attributed to me. I was not at the stadium but at a friend's house in the countryside. I couldn't watch the whole game. Seeing Amara Diané, whom I had recruited and with whom I was very close, scoring this goal was not a joy but an immense liberation.
VIDEO. PSG, retro 2007: a year in hell
And your worst memory?
It was a night of defeat at the Parc against Caen (0-1) during the winter of 2007. We kept losing. I go down to the salons where I meet Jean-Luc Delarue. I tell him that I want to quit and that I will go and write my letter of resignation in my office. He accompanies me and tells me that he will write it for me. He writes the exact opposite of what I told him, that I wanted to stay and fight to save the club. We called Sébastien Bazin to whom I handed the letter. He reads it and says to me: "Of course you have to stay!" At that point, I felt like I would never make it. It was a big wound.
Do you have any regret?
I must have done some bullshit. But when Bazin took over the club, I should have asked for more money from the start. We were coming to win the Coupe de France, I spent half of the budget that had been allocated to me when I should have spent everything at once. I have sinned by having too much confidence in the team. Paul Le Guen assured me that with young people like Sakho, Sankharé, Chantôme, we were able to reach fourth place in the championship. We then had a summer tournament in London against Milan or Arsenal and we were playing great. Arsène Wenger said to me: "What the hell are you doing recruiting other players when you have these great young people?" But the truth was, the other teams weren't fit or ready. I should have been more offensive towards my shareholder to ask him for more resources. I was fooled by those who thought we needed local young people. It's somewhat true, but you also need stars. I overestimated the workforce. If I had to do it again, I would have asked for a budget extension and I would have bought a big center-forward. I certainly lacked ambition at this level. I signed my biggest transfer by buying Papus Camara in Saint-Etienne for 6 million euros. I was Croesus (laughs) ! Today, these are the prices that make people laugh.
What relationship do you have with the club today?
It's a big part of my life. I got married in 1976 and the evening of the ceremony, I took my wife to the Park to see PSG-Troyes. It was a bit shitty match with 20,000 spectators in the rain. But I was there. Even today, I watch everything. I can't attend games often due to my health issues, but I go there five or six times a season. I am received like a minister. Current leaders have great respect for the past. But hey, old people like me, there aren't many left. I watch all the games on television, I know the squad perfectly. With the functions that I still have (Editor's note: he is vice-president of the association and leader of the CFA) , I always feel like part of the family. But I have less of a lump in my stomach than when I was president. It may also be because we win more often. In my time, even at 2-1 in the 90th minute, we weren't sure of anything ...
Do you still recognize the club you knew more than forty years ago?
Several of my friends tell me: “It was better before when you were in charge”. I do not agree. The club certainly has nothing to do with the one I was managing. But a club, in order to survive, must have a character, one that follows you throughout life… This is the added value of the brand. PSG has kept its roots of passion, brilliance, panache and turbulence. The style has changed, but the personality of the club has remained. He still has his DNA.
VIDEO. Cayzac: "No longer being president is hard to live with"
In your eyes, is PSG a good fiftieth birthday?
Yes. I have seen all the evolution since the end of the 1970s and I think the club has aged well. Its history is not a long calm river but the club has never stopped improving. The club never went down. He had ups and downs but he was able to take the steps forward. I saw the club go from a small association to a global franchise. The Qataris were the trigger by putting the means and spending their money well. As a former leader I could say it was better before, but not at all, I am a huge fan of the work done since 2011.
What can we wish for PSG for its 50th anniversary? Obviously to win the Champions League! It would be the greatest birthday present ever.