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Louis Vuitton owner Bernard Arnault set to become majority shareholder of Paris FC

Bernard Arnault and his family are set to acquire a majority stake in Ligue 2 side Paris FC alongside Red Bull. It’s one of the most striking deals of the year and the potential acquirement is a confirmation of the growing relationship between fashion and football.

Bernard Arnault Louis Vuitton Paris FC

Over the past 40 years, Bernard Arnault has made LVMH into the company it is now. Nowadays, the organisation owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Hublot, TAG Heuer and Sephora. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Arnault (75) is the richest man in the world with a personal wealth of $182 billion. 

According to L’Equipe, it’s a family decision to become involved in football and acquire a majority stake in Paris FC. It’s not their plan to immediately challenge PSG, but they would like to be promoted to the top flight and eventually take part in the European Champions League. Arnault would reportedly take a stake of 55%, with Red Bull acquiring around 15%. Paris FC would therefore be the latest addition to the Red Bull Group, which includes football clubs such as RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls FC. Paris FC’s current majority shareholder Pierre Ferracci is expected to keep a 30% stake until 2027, when Arnault will attain his remaining shares. 

Paris FC, who are currently competing in Ligue 2, have always struggled to make a name for themselves domestically and are yet to win a trophy. However, the club has always been applauded for its academy, having produced talents such as Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Axel Disasi (Chelsea) and Manu Koné (AS Roma). 

Logical step for LVMH

Perre van den Brink, who is the creator behind the weekly Dutch podcast Grof Geld, which talks about the influence and power money holds in football, sees Paris FC as a logical club for Arnault. ‘’This club has many advantages,’’ says van den Brink in an interview with Quote. ‘’First of all, this club doesn’t have much significance. It’s a blank canvas: you can make of it whatever you want, there’s hardly any existing narrative, which makes the risk of failure quite small. Besides that, it’s also simply about local pride: the Arnaults are deeply attached to the city of Paris, it’s truly their home city.’’

Van den Brink is also not surprised to see LVMH move into football. ‘’The worlds of fashion and football are really converging. French footballers lead the way in this, when they arrive at national team training, each one is dressed more eccentrically than the last. Just last week, one player arrived wearing a completely green mask.’’ 

The creator behind the Grof Geld podcast believes that the Arnault family has been inspired by Ryan Reynolds and his journey as a football owner of Wrexham AFC. ‘’Arnault has an unlimited budget, they could turn Paris FC into a similar entertainment brand with a rags-to-riches story: from nothing to something.’’