AMBITIONS. The American owner of Olympique de Marseille is calling for urgent and far-reaching reforms to overcome the current crisis. He welcomes OM’s return to the Champions League and has set a clear goal: to play in it every season from now on.
Frank McCourt discreetly spent part of his week in Paris, where he held a series of meetings with high-ranking decision-makers: Marie Barsacq, the French Minister for Sport, Philippe Diallo, the President of the French Football Federation (FFF), Nicolas de Tavernost, the CEO of LFP Média, the League’s commercial company, and other owners of top-flight clubs. The main topic of discussion was the financial crisis in French football caused by the dizzying fall in TV rights, and the lessons to be learned from it.
For the American businessman, this is a unique opportunity to turn the tables and introduce a new type of governance that is more modern, efficient and fair. Two months ago, Philippe Diallo announced his intention to create a French-style ‘Premier League’ based on the English model, in which the clubs would become shareholders. The Bostonian fully subscribes to this view, and believes that the future success of Olympique de Marseille, which he bought from Margarita Louis-Dreyfus in 2016, depends on fundamental reforms. Before leaving the capital, the dashing septuagenarian spoke at length exclusively to JDD.
Read the full interview on JDD’s website here.