Why Kylian Mbappé bought Ligue 2 football club SM Caen
It’s one of the biggest stories of last week: Real Madrid player Kylian Mbappé has become the owner of Ligue 2 side Stade Malherbe de Caen. His investment fund, Coalition Capital, bought 80% of the club’s stakes for a reported fee of just under €20 million and will also clear part of the debt so that SM Caen can start from a healthier position. It promises a new era for SM Caen in terms of sporting, media, and economic potential, much to the delight of the club’s fans.
But why did the 25-year-old French superstar buy SM Caen? At first sight, Mbappé has no personal connection to the club that finished sixth in Ligue 2 last season. Mbappé grew up in a northeastern suburb of Paris and has played for AS Monaco and PSG in the past. Some news outlets, including the Dutch NOS, however, reported that Mbappé was close to joining the youth academy of SM Caen, but eventually preferred AS Monaco as his next destination.
French football crisis
Besides, French football is going through a major financial crisis. French football was struggling to sign a broadcast deal with broadcasting companies for months but eventually managed to agree on a last-minute deal with DAZN and beIN only six weeks before the start of the upcoming season. However, the agreed five-year deal of €500 million is well below the original target of €1bn and also lower than the previous deal of €582 million. It’s also the lowest amount paid for top-flight French football rights in twenty years. This is a huge problem because most teams rely on domestic TV money for a large part of their revenue.
Perhaps, Kylian Mbappé’s investment in SM Caen, and therefore French football, will garner more attention to the national football landscape which has changed significantly over the last few years, transitioning into more of a breeding ground for young talents.
Changes at SM Caen
SM Caen has faced significant financial instability since their former president Jean-François Fortin left in 2018. Ever since their relegation in 2019, the club has been struggling to make their return to Ligue 1. The arrival of the captain of the national team will excite the club and it promises to be an interesting next few weeks in the summer transfer window. Ouest-France, a French daily newspaper, already stated that it’s easy to imagine that in the short term, several players have already agreed to join Stade Malherbe de Caen once the agreement between Mbappé’s company and SM Caen is signed.
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Some internal changes have also been made at the French club already. The club’s former president Olivier Pickeu has been relieved of his duties and Ziad Hammoud, who has been managing Mbappé image company for over a year, was chosen by the superstar to take over the presidency.
SM Caen has also already caught our attention with their new football kits ahead of the upcoming season, which could signify a change into a more fashion-forward football club.
While Mbappé’s exact goals and plans for SM Caen will become clearer over the next weeks, the club has already received more attention and popularity than they’ve had since their relegation to Ligue 2.
Kylian Mbappé is not the only footballer to be the owner of a football club. Recently, we also made a list of other footballers who own football clubs.
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