It was long past midnight when Pierre Ferracci saw a famous name appear on his telephone on October 10. At the other end of the line was a familiar voice, but less friendly than usual. "Why didn't you tell me?" French President Emmanuel Macron had just learned that Ferracci – the father of one of his best friends, Marc Ferracci, recently appointed minister for industry – was in advanced talks to sell his football club, Paris FC. He was preparing to make a deal with a tandem of shareholders made up of the Arnault family, owners of luxury goods giant LVMH, and the Austrian group Red Bull. Over the phone, Ferracci managed to convince Macron that the success of the sale project required absolute confidentiality. "I didn't dare tell the president that if we informed him, the whole of Paris would know," said Ferracci.

Since the end of April, more and more visits have been made to the PFC offices. Auditors scrutinized the books, business lawyers were taken into confidence and representatives of the Red Bull group, including former German international Mario Gomez, the firm's technical director for football, came to observe the operating methods at the training center near Orly airport. Miraculously, nothing transpired until early October, when L'Equipe revealed the first details of the operation. The Arnaults, through their family holding company Agache, will initially acquire 55% of the shares. The Red Bull group, which owns several football teams around the world and contributes its sporting expertise, will invest 15%. Ferracci retains 30% of the capital, which he is expected to relinquish in 2027, along with the club's presidency, which will then revert to Antoine Arnault, eldest son of patriarch Bernard Arnault. The two men are expected to clarify their respective intentions at a press conference on Wednesday, November 20.

For Ferracci, this "long-planned" sale comes as a relief – it also promises a handsome financial prospect, even if no figures have been made public. The Corsican businessman, president of the Alpha auditing and consulting group, has been at the helm of Paris FC since 2012. Founded in 1969, the club has developed in the shadow of its famous neighbor, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The two clubs' youth sections and women's teams are locked in a territorial rivalry, but there's no comparison for the men's team. Ferracci's club stagnated in the lower divisions until its accession to Ligue 2, the second tier of French professional football, in 2015.

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