“Have to adapt”
© Imago
The city of Le Mans is particularly known for car racing – less in football. The local club also has a first division past and large player names in the history books. With the new season, Le Mans FC is back in the second division and, thanks to well -known new investors, dreams of higher. Tennis-Weltstar Novak Djokovic is the new partner at the Manceller as just one of several known names. The former Formula 1 drivers Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen have also started through the Outfield investment group.
The club announced no details about the amount of the investments from northwestern France. “Le Mans FC should grow sustainably in French football”, is in one Club announcement indicated that an excessive shopping tour is probably not to be expected. This is what President Thierry Gomez vision looks like, who goes to his tenth year in the club. He stated: “We have to be aware that the economic model of football has changed. The elite has shrunk and new investors have been added. In order to be able to survive in this new context, we have to adapt.”
Well -known history in Le Mans with Drogba and Grafite
In 2019/20 the last attempt to establish Le Mans in the second division had failed. After a year it went back to third class. And yet the sporting development was positive at the time. By 2016/17 you still had to compete in the fifth league after Le Mans had been banished to the sixth division due to financial difficulties by the French football finance supervision DNCG 2013.
The more glorious times at Les Sang et or are linked to big football names. Later stars celebrated their breakthrough here, including Champions League winner Didier Drogba, who made more than 60 second division games for the team 72 at the time and initially made the leap into Ligue 1, later to Chelsea. The former German champion and Bundesliga goalkeeper Grafite even played in the first division for Le Mans and became VfL Wolfsburg in 2007 for 7.5 million euros for the most expensive sale of club history at the time; Later only exceeded by Stéphane Sessègnon (PSG) and Romaric (FC Sevilla, each in 2008).