In Chambly, Paris FC will inaugurate a new jersey bearing the slogan “Victorious Bahrain”. The arrival of the small Gulf Kingdom as shareholder and main sponsor will give new impetus to President Pierre Ferracci's club, which remains in the majority at 77%. But the three cases of Covid announced on Friday at noon threw a cold within the club and threatened the holding of this first match.
Paris FC announced that three of your players had tested positive for Covid-19 before this Chambly match. What's your reaction ?
PIERRE FERRACCI. We had been spared until then. This news is not encouraging. Our concern is obviously to avoid the spread of the virus within the club but also the opposing team. I hope that we are not in the emergence of a cluster, with the difficulty that all clubs encounter today with the incubation time which may give rise to other positive cases in the coming days.
Are you worried ?
We are really off for a very complicated season despite the drastic and costly measures that all clubs have put in place. But we will face it. It will weld the team and the club.
With the arrival of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Paris FC has changed dimension ...
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It is an exceptional opportunity to promote the work carried out in terms of training and with Orly (NLDR: training and training center) . For ten years, I have sweated enough, experienced hardships and paid in every sense of the word not to start reaping the rewards. To be honest, I couldn't believe it when trading started in October. But the moment Bahrain accepted my terms, I would have been a bad president if I had refused this deal. With the health crisis, it would have been insane to let such a beautiful operation pass. Because trains only pass once ...
💥𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙟𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙮 2020-2021
🔵⚪ # TeamPFC pic.twitter.com/cLEJOXaQyG
Can we consider a future buyout of the club by Bahrain?
I was clear with them. We will stay on this scheme of 20% of the capital with additional sponsorship. We did not make any commitment to make it a majority one day. I repeat: the capital will remain mainly national and regional. With me at the head of the club for a while. It is out of the question that Paris FC goes under the foreign cut. The model that I prefer is that of Lyon where the Chinese own 20%.
"I have never used the bad relations between Bahrain and Qatar"
For several years, you have spoken with many investors. Why did you choose Bahrain and not RedBird or the City Football Group who had also approached you?
Their proposals were serious and interesting, but like others, they wanted the majority. I don't give lessons to anyone. But so far, there have been few success stories in the majority foreign-controlled clubs. Some have wasted time and money. Being in the minority means having confidence in national partners who know and master the environment. Bahrain understood that it could also be a winner by remaining in the minority.
Some believed that Bahrain came by submarine from Saudi Arabia to oppose Qatar and PSG ...
I let those who want to fantasize… Of course the Paris brand helped me in my negotiations. But I never made use of the bad relations between Bahrain and Qatar. I don't fit in there. Bahrain does not follow the same communication logic as Qatar and American funds. They did not put any pressure on us, they are not in a hurry, nor in a hurry. They are already happy to be in Paris and in football. I appreciate their philosophy because they are humble, modest and have joined a project with a training dimension in which they believe. Jean-Marc Nobilo ( Editor's note: the new director of the training center) will help them.
President Emmanuel Macron, to whom you are close, did he intervene in this matter?
I repeat, I avoid involving the president in football issues ... But as I did at the time of my discussions with the Russians of Gazprom, I took the diplomatic route. In such cases, it is normal to take precautions. But I was told that it was going in the right direction and that our agreement posed no problem. I think that the State looks favorably on the cooperation that is developing with Bahrain at the sporting, cultural, scientific, economic level ...
According to our information, a new foreign shareholder with 10% will arrive in the coming months. What can you tell us about it?
I have two good tracks, mostly European and a third one that is not in the Gulf that I will start to explore. They want to play the training card at home and have approached us to develop it. Having three young people passed to Paris FC in the semi-finals of the Champions League, that counts ...
"I am giving myself 3 years to go up to L1"
Thanks to the contribution of Bahrain, Paris FC has never had such a large budget (19 M €) ...
I am happy with the recruitment, the preparation and to have found a fluid organization with René Girard (coach) and Frédéric Hébert (sporting director). But just because we are now in the Top 5 budgets does not mean that we will end up in the top five… Lens took 5 years to recover. I am going to say to the players: " forget the budget, Bahrain, the 6 victories in friendly matches and all the positive which now surrounds Paris FC ... It is up to you to put the work and efforts that the club has put into concrete form on the pitch. . This season, we must already get back in the direction of travel and regain the momentum that allowed us to finish 8th and then 4th. I have not changed my speech: I am giving myself 3 years to go up to L1.
Where is the Charléty renovation file at?
It is a major issue for us but a complicated file. We are working there with Pierre Rabadan who took over from Jean-François Martins. There is no other way out because the Park is PSG and Jean-Bouin, Stade Français. I don't want to lie to the supporters: yes we can go up to L1 at Charléty but we will not be able to stay there permanently if it remains in good condition because it is not suitable. In L1, we need to generate more ticketing revenue, partnership with lodges and merchandising.