Paris FC promoted in Ligue 1, a derby against PSG next season – Liberation

Thanks to his draw in Martigues on Friday May 2, Paris FC reached in the season of His acquisition by the Arnault familyin November, its objective of accessing Ligue 1 and the capital will soon find the inimitable scent of derbies. At first, the club wants to stabilize in the elite before aiming in a few seasons « European places », According to Pierre Ferracci, the historic president.

« We must start by avoiding any industrial accident which would consist in seeing us go back to Ligue 2 at the end of next season », warns the leader, who will leave his place to One of Bernard Arnault’s children in 2027probably to Antoine who accompanies him since the acquisition. « Some will say that it is a communication at Guy Roux,, he resumes, that with the Arnault family, there is the capital to have stronger ambitions, but we have too much respect for all the teams that we are going to face and which have been there for decades to try to maintain the steps. ”

« Mounting was a fierce struggle », Recalls Stéphane Gilli, the coach for two seasons, who will remain in office next year. “With Lorient, Metz and Dunkirk, we fought every weekend. This climb highlights all the work accomplished for years. ” If the PFC is ahead of the passage times fixed during its acquisition, a gigantic task remains to be accomplished to meet expectations.

In recruitment first of all, to maintain Ligue 1. “We will strengthen the team. To see what positions it is necessary at all costs to put players who have the experience to achieve this goal in a calm way ”, said Ferracci. Red Bull contributes in this area by intervening in the detection of young talents. The effort also relates to the budget. The PFC had around 30 million euros in Ligue 2 when Montpellier, relegated but 8th budget of Ligue 1, spent 50 million on its only payroll.

« We must take into account this industrial disaster that are TV rights. Thanks to solid shareholders, I can do it serenely, but the objective is not to throw money through the windows ”, Adds Ferracci, stressing that the National Management Control Directorate (DNCG) requested « Caution in transfers ». The PFC must pass the financial gendarme of French football on June 19 with a budget for Ligue 1 which it will have previously drawn during a board of directors on May 12, once the Ligue 2 championship is completed.

There are many sites before Paris FC could tease Paris SG sportingly, in a derby of the capital that everyone dreams of. « We still have a lot to learn, said the president. Learning Ligue 1 is not only sports or media, it is also commercial and economical. ”

Especially since the PFC will have to abandon its Charléty stadium at least temporarily in the 13th arrondissement next year and coexist with the Stade Français rugby team in Jean-Bouin, adjoining… Parc des Princes.

Ferracci recognizes that his wish to return to Charléty given to the standards of Ligue 1 is not « No news ». “And we are very happy to share Jean-Bouin with the Stade Français. I hope it will stay in Top 14. It will be easier to rent common hospitalities if they are in Top 14 and us in Ligue 1. ”

At the same time, the PFC must enlarge its training center located in Orly to pass it from 8 to 20 hectares and house its two professional, male and female teams, as well as its two training centers. Ambitious but cautious, Pierre Ferracci quotes as an example Atalanta Bergame. « A club that has climbed the ladder quietly and today plays the leading roles in Italy without having the budget of the clubs of Milan, Rome or Turin. »

The Atalanta won the Europa League in 2024, eight years after arriving at the club of its coach Gianpiero Gasperini, the main craftsman of his evolution. It leaves a little time at the PFC for whom it all starts today.