Ligue 1: Antoine Arnault officially named president of Paris FC

Antoine Arnault has been appointed president of Paris FC, succeeding Pierre Ferracci, the Parisian club announced on Monday following a board meeting.

Leader of the PFC since 2012, Pierre Ferracci handed over to the son of Bernard Arnault, majority shareholder of the PFC, and was named honorary president. “It is an honor and pride to succeed, on behalf of my family, Pierre Ferracci. He will have been the tireless architect of the Paris FC project for almost 20 years,” greeted Antoine Arnault, quoted in the club press release.

Jean-Marc Gallot, current general manager, is promoted to deputy president of Paris FC. Since its takeover in November 2024 by the Arnault family, associated with Red Bull, PFC has been promoted to Ligue 1, where it finished in 11th place last year.

Having had a very good start to the season, the club is currently on the third step of the championship podium, three points behind the leader, PSG.

Ferracci has “put the club in good hands”

“I put the club in good hands. Given the situation in football today, it's good to have the Arnault family as a shareholder. It’s good to have the means to invest,” declared Pierre Ferracci in the mixed zone at the beginning of November after the PFC’s victory against Monaco (3-1), assuring: “The best is yet to come.”

Scheduled for the end of the season since the sale of the PFC to the Arnault family and Red Bull in November 2024, the departure of Pierre Ferracci was finally brought forward to this fall.

The Arnault family currently holds 52.4% of the club's capital via Agache Sport. Red Bull, the Austrian group which notably owns the Leipzig and Salzburg clubs, with which the Arnault family partnered on this project, owns 10.6%. The rest is divided between BRI Sports Holdings, representing Lycamobile (7.2%) and Alter Paris, the structure of Pierre Ferracci (29.8%), which should therefore sell its shares with his departure.

Under his presidency, the PFC moved from National to Ligue 1 and acquired a training center in Orly, in Val de Marne. He also developed the women's section, which became one of the best French clubs, at the same level as PSG and behind OL Lyonnes.