Arnault Family: Buying Paris FC Soccer Club is Long-term Investment

French businessman Antoine Arnault looks on during a press conference following the announcement that the family of LVMH’s Bernard Arnault takes over of PFC Paris Football Club, in Orly, near Paris, France, 20 November 2024. EPA/YOAN VALAT

Billionaire Bernard Arnault's family aims to gradually lift second-tier Paris FC to be among the elite of French and European soccer by focusing on training young players rather than poaching other clubs' stars, it said on Wednesday.
The family is preparing to complete a deal to take over Paris FC later this month, continuing a trend of billionaires buying soccer clubs across Europe.
An overhaul could eventually turn the Paris-based club into a potential rival to Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, owned by Qatar Sports Investments.
But Antoine Arnault, Bernard Arnault's son, said the deal was not meant to disrupt France's soccer landscape.
"We'll take things step by step," he said, while making it clear that the Arnault family had high ambitions for the club.
"If you're asking me for one dream it would be to play Liverpool one day in the Champions league ... and who knows, maybe even beat them," he told Reuters.
Arnault said this was a project he led with his siblings, and that they had to convince their father, who is not a big football fan.
"I think he saw with his business eye the potential value creation around the Paris FC brand," he said.
Earlier, Arnault told a press conference that his family's aim was for the club to build France's best soccer training academy. "It's important, sports-wise, to do things gradually ... without rushing."
"We're in it for the long run," he said.
He declined to say exactly how much money the family holding would put into the soccer club.
But he said media reports of at least 100 million euros, which could be pushed to 200 million if the club secures a spot in the top flight next season, were roughly in the right ballpark.