After Mbappé the footballer, Mbappé becomes an investor. At 25, the new Real Madrid striker became the owner of the Stade Malherbe in Caen on Tuesday, July 30. He is one of the first players still active to get his hands on a club. He bought 80% of the shares of the Ligue 2 team for a sum that is said to be around 20 million euros. If this Normandy club has a financial interest, it also allows it to cultivate a certain brand image.
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Barely landed in Spain, Kylian Mbappé is already back in France for the acquisition of SM Caen. Via the investment fund Coalition Capital of the company Interconnected Ventures, the Bondynois has acquired 80% of the shares of the American investment fund Oaktree.
At Malherbe stadiumthe current chairman of the supervisory board Pierre-Antoine Capton, chairman of the board of directors of Mediawan, a French heavyweight in European audiovisual production, remains a minority shareholder (20%), the press release stated. The agreement was concluded this Tuesday evening. The amount of the transaction is not yet officially known, but several media outlets including The Team And The Parisian mention a sum of between 15 and 20 million euros.
This dual role as player-owner is a bit of an earthquake in the world of football. Even if he is not the first professional player to become a club owner, he is one of the first active players to do so. Before him, retired David Beckham founded Inter Miami in 2018, a club of which he is co-owner and president. The Brazilian Ronaldo had also bought the Cruzeiro club in Brazil before selling his shares.
This communication operation is carefully thought out, according to sports economist Pierre Rondeau. We are also on this diversification focused on a provincial club to get away from this Parisian-centric image. Mbappé, who played at the bling-bling Qatari PSG, actually bet on Caen ” he explains.
A strategic investment
With a Ligue 2 club that has Ligue 1 potential, the French team captain is also making a strategic investment. In football, you can make money, but more at the transfer window level. A player like Mbappé and the aura he has, could have an impact on future young talents. He could direct them to his club and make money, at that time “, analyzes Vincent Chaudel, co-founder of the Sports Business Observatory.
Ziad Hammoud, a close friend of the player and former strategy director of beIN Media Group, has taken over as club president. For several months, he has been the CEO of Mbappé’s image company, Interconnected Ventures. As the main investor in this project, we are very enthusiastic about continuing the development of the Malherbe Caen stadium, alongside PAC Invest. “, said Ziad Hammoud, quoted in the statement, while adding: “ We are determined to create an environment where young talents can flourish and where the club can defend its identity with strength and ambition. “.
But the motivations of the investor Mbappé matter little according to Pierre Rondeau. The decision is mainly that of his entourage. ” This is not an approach that comes directly from him but from his family and SARL Mbappé with his mother and father who are very present. Mbappé, he will remain above all and before all the striker of Real Madrid ” he adds.
The last explanation could also be a choice of the heart. Mbappé had almost signed for Caen in 2013 before finally signing for AS Monaco.