“We have heard from very worried club presidents, this should raise questions for the Federation and the State,” says Senator Michel Savin.

The LR senator from Isère, rapporteur of the senatorial commission of inquiry into the financialisation of football, carried out, on Thursday, an inspection “on documents and on site” at the headquarters of the Professional Football League (LFP).

Two days after the re-election of Vincent Labrune as head of the institution, senators Michel Savin (Les Républicains) and Laurent Lafon (Union centriste) carried out an inspection at the LFP headquarters on Thursday, September 12, as part of the senatorial inquiry commission into the financialization of football.

This commission of inquiry was launched on April 4, following the creation of the commercial company of the League, part of which (13.04%) was sold to the Luxembourg investment fund CVC for approximately 1.5 billion euros. Michel Savin confirmed to franceinfo: sport that ““We are very far from the objectives announced with the creation of this commercial company” and also questions the internal functioning of the LFPThe hearings will continue until the end of September and should also concern Cyril Linette, the unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of the League. The commission’s report will be presented in October.

Franceinfo: sport: What justified this visit to the headquarters of the Professional Football League?

Michel Savin: We began this mission several months ago now. We have conducted about fifty hearings. It seemed important to us to have additional information on a certain number of subjects that affect the functioning of the League or its funding. And we also made this visit to be able to recover the documents that we had requested.

We had scheduled this visit a little earlier in the year. We were a little surprised by the date that was set by the League in July for the election of the president: September 10. And, not wanting to interfere before the election – because I think that if we had made this visit a few days before, it could have been very misinterpreted – we decided with the administrators of the Senate to schedule it after the election.

So far, what conclusions do you draw from the trade agreement with CVC?

This proposal was presented to us as an obligation that could allow the League to better market its private rights, and also market other media that could enrich French football, and therefore the clubs, and give them the means to be more competitive.

For us, the objective of this mission was to check whether the law that had been voted, and in particular this article on the creation of this commercial company, was beneficial for the clubs. The creation of this commercial company is not there to enrich the leaders of the League or the League. This is what was explained to us. Today, with the result of the allocation of television rights, which is 60% to 50% below what was hoped for, we unfortunately note that we are very far from the objectives. And it is the clubs that are penalized.

What did you learn about the inner workings of the LFP?

The leaders have given us all the documents we requested, we will only start studying them in the coming weeks. But already yesterday, I was able to ask questions, in particular on tables that were presented to us on the functioning of the League, that is to say at the level of the workforce.

For example, I was a little surprised to see that between 2022 and 2024, the workforce within the League has decreased, from 77 to 56 people. While at the same time, the payroll has increased. [environ 7,8 millions d’euros]. One of the explanations that was given to us yesterday was the increase in the salary of the president, Vincent Labrune. [il a annoncé après sa réélection que son salaire allait baisser, sans préciser dans quelles proportions]. On the other side, at LFP Media [la filiale commerciale]there is an increase in staff numbers between 2022 and 2024 as well as in the wage bill, from 4.3 to 8.7 million euros.

“The League chose to buy a building for 131 million euros at a time when it had no guarantee of the resources it would have in the years to come. There too, we have questions.”

Michel Savin, senator of the Republicans

to franceinfo: sport

These are things that were given to us again yesterday, on which we must work closely to fully understand the processes.

With what consequences for the clubs?

It is the club presidents who vote. So they validated the purchase. The increase in salaries, in particular that of Vincent Labrune [multiplié par trois depuis sa prise de fonction en 2020], was also validated. These decisions were taken during the board meetings, which today mean that these charges weigh heavily on the LFP. And at the same time, revenue from TV rights is falling sharply.

And those who are penalized by the drop in revenue are the clubs. When you see on one hand a purchase at 131 million, when you see salary increases and bonuses, and on the other hand, you observe that the clubs, for some, will see revenue drop by 50% to 60%, we can wonder.

Concretely, what are the consequences?

For us, the objective is to learn lessons and take stock of the financing of football in France and to see if it is necessary to make recommendations, both to the League and to the French Football Federation. [FFF].

It is not the parliamentarians who will make decisions within the League. On the other hand, we will surely also be able to make proposals that could be included in the framework of a bill. But we will not go as far as the legal aspect. There is an ongoing investigation by the financial prosecutor’s office.

Do you believe that the FFF and the Ministry of Sports bear responsibility?

Yes. I think they have been very discreet. We have heard from presidents who are very worried, including presidents who are French business leaders, who are football lovers but who invest a lot of money in it and who, today, are very worried about their ability to continue to manage their club because the situation is not good. And that should raise questions for both the Federation and the State.