Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has explained why he decided to invest in English football rather than build a future at Olympique Marseille, the club once owned by his family. The Black Cats, who returned to the Premier League this season, currently sit in an impressive fourth place.
Talking to Channel+Louis-Dreyfus said his background with OM shaped his view of the French game during the sale of the club by his mother Marguerite Louis-Dreyfus in 2016.
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“Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was part of a family that owned a club in France.” – he said. “Even in 2016, you could already see the structural problems associated with television rights.”
The 27-year-old added that the prospect of working in England had long attracted him. “I've always dreamed of going to England. I always thought it was the best league in the world.”
Louis-Dreyfus also revealed that he bought Sunderland during the COVID-19 pandemic, without being able to visit the club in advance. “If I had attended a League One match, I probably wouldn’t have bought it.” he admitted. “It was still a shock for me to leave Olympique Marseille, which played the most important matches in Ligue 1, and find myself in a stadium for 1,000 people with a pitch that was not in very good condition.”
GFFN | George Boxall
