Paris FC - the David turned Goliath that are a threat to the future of Ligue 1
Paris FC – the other team in Paris. In fact, this is simply untrue as many French football fans will tell you. The ‘original’ team of Paris was actually Red Star FC (not to be confused with the team from Belgrade), who are the 4th oldest professional team in France and are 5-time Coupe de France winners.
The reason why I bring Red Star up before any other Parisian team is because they represent everything great about football – and they are the stark contrast to the other 2 teams in Paris. A club with a deep history, passionate fanbase: a founding member of Ligue 1, admittedly never a title winner. However, this is a club that deeply cares about its image and its fanbase are known in France as left wing, often holding banners welcoming immigrants and other forms of social activism. This is why in 2022, when the club was set to be bought by private American company ‘777’, the fans led widespread demonstrations that postponed their matches.
Even to this day the club still protests the ownership model because, to them, it represents everything wrong with modern football. But despite this, Red Star have seen success on the pitch, promoted to Ligue 2 for the first time in 5 years. Of course, this hasn’t stopped fan protests simply because to them it is not about the success on the field, but rather about resistance. You can see that resistance in the stands, off the pitch in community projects and even in the club’s name. ‘Red Star’ means a symbol for workers’ rights and social justice. You can see it quite literally in the stands: one of the stands is named after a former footballer who played for Red Star in the second world war, and who was executed for his role in resisting Nazi occupation.
Thus, this is a club that is by nature intrinsically tied with politics which means to them at least their fight against a modern take on the game is essential to the club’s culture. Now, take this and compare it to the likes of PSG. Of course, there is no denying that the big boys of Paris are brilliant – their fanbase is one of the best in France (in my opinion perhaps only bested by Marseille and Lens) and it is truly a privilege to watch them play. But simultaneously this a club bankrolled by a whole country, the Qatari government, who have not only monopolised the French game and essentially ruining any sense of competition but also have completely morphed the transfer market across Europe and beyond. However, this has been both documented and analysed constantly since their sale in 2011. So instead, I want to focus on the 3rd and final Parisian club: Paris FC.
Most people know Paris FC as the little brother, the one who tries to emulate his senior in every which way. From the badge to the colour of their kits they are almost unidentifiable. And now, even their ownership budget looks near identical. Paris FC were taken over as majority owners by ‘Agache Sport’ who have just over 50%. Agache Sport is a company solely created to buy Paris FC by the Arnault family in France. If you don’t know who this family, they are one of the richest families in all of France (and the world for that matter), with an estimated net worth of over 186 billion dollars. Yes, you did read that right. And whilst this has been a major talking point, its also worth noting that one of the minority owners is actually Red Bull with a little over 10%. So, don’t be surprised in the near future if the club rebrands as ‘Red Bull Paris’ or something along those lines.
Obviously, it goes without saying that this is bad for football – in fact I’d go as far as saying that anything involving Red Bull in football ownership has only caused chaos. And now, Paris FC just last night have clinched promotion to Ligue 1 for the first time in 46 years, which no doubt creates a sense of indecisiveness. I am happy for the fans of the club, who have watched their local rivals win essentially everything there is to offer domestically every season, and I am happy for the fact that we will see a Parisian derby in the topflight. In this way, some will argue that this is good for French football: PSG finally have a competitor who can afford to outspend them and create a super derby of sorts. Yes yes, on paper that does sound tasty, and who knows this may bring about a Real vs Barca in the 2010s type of competition. But honestly, even if it does it is still really damaging to French football. The solution to mega spending from one club is not just to pump a shit ton of money in another to balance the books.
That will only further the problem with French football and further bankrupt every other team. And don’t get me wrong, there is a strong possibility that lucrative TV licensing deals will come that will help all French league teams, but I seriously doubt any French Ligue 1 or 2 team would sacrifice a TV deal for a full-blown duopoly for years to come. Even today, there has been talk that with promotion Paris FC will have over 100 million euros to spend on transfers this summer. Outside of PSG last season, who spent almost 240 million euros on transfers, only 3 teams spent more than 100 million on transfers – Rennes, Lyon and Marseille (it is worth noting that despite their heavy spending Rennes actually turned a net profit in the window).
In fact, of the 3 teams promoted last year, St. Etienne sent 23 million on 18 signings, Auxerre spent a mere 4 million on 15 players and Angers did not even spend a penny on 10 players. 2 other teams, Le Havre and Montpellier, also didn’t spend any money on transfers and in total 10 teams spent 20 million or less. That is over half of the whole league. To add to this, 10 teams in total actually turned a net profit on transfers. This is perhaps unsurprising considering Ligue 1 is a known selling league, but that is still seriously impressive. In fact, only La Liga has more net positive windows by club, and no team even comes close to transfer profit margins.
So, what does this information tell us about Paris FC? It’s going to create an absolute mess. Teams may be more convinced this summer to spend just to compete, which can be really dangerous for clubs who rely on transfer sales to stay afloat. In previous years, clubs would look around the league and be okay with only spending big on a few key areas, but now they might become more trigger happy, especially towards the end of the window this summer.
I can see Lille, Lens, Monaco, Nice, Rennes and Strasbourg having big windows purely because they will see Paris as a direct threat to that European place finish. Whilst you may think this is good for the league – spend big to create more competition – I can only see it create big risks and increased pressure for success. Inevitably not all of these clubs are going to finish in Europe this season and so some will miss out on necessary European money that may ruin them long term. And so, Paris FC are a problem, a problem that is not going away any time soon. We will have to get comfortable watching their rise, and what that will mean for the landscape of French football for years to come.
