Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has become the majority owner at Ligue 2 club Caen via his Coalition Capital investment fund.
He has made the history of the 25-year-old, and youngest active player to own a professional European football club.
Coalition Capital has bought the 80 per cent of the club’s shares which had been owned by asset management company Oaktree Capital Management, which also owns 99.6 per cent of Italian club Inter Milan.
Coalition Capital is the investment fund of Interconnected Ventures, founded by Mbappe and “committed to driving continuous innovation in sports, media, and investments”.
Caen — based in the city located in Normandy, 240 km west of Paris — confirmed the transfer of funds from Oaktree to Coalition Capital on Wednesday.
Ziad Hammoud, CEO of Interconnected Ventures, will become Caen president.
Coalition Capital annonce la reprise des parts d’Oaktree dans le @SMCaen aux côtés de PAC Invest. #SMCaen #TeamSMC
— Stade Malherbe Caen (@SMCaen) July 31, 2024
“As the lead investor in this project, we are very excited to continue the development of Caen, alongside PAC Invest (Pierre-Antoine Capton’s investment company, which remains a minority shareholder of the club),” Hammoud said.
“Our shared vision with the club of sporting excellence and community engagement is at the heart of our approach. We are determined to create an environment where young talents can flourish and where the club can defend its identity with strength and ambition.
CAEN
Caen are currently in Ligue 2 after having been relegated from the top flight in May of 2019.
The relationship between the Mbappés and Caen goes back a long way. In 2014, when Mbappé was 13, he almost signed for them before choosing Monaco.
The source said Caen is expected to name a new president in Ziad Hammoud. Hammoud is a close friend of the France captain and is in charge of his image rights company. Other close allies of Mbappé could also come in to hold other positions at the club, the source said.
It is not clear yet how much of his own money Mbappé will ultimately invest and what his ambitions for the club are, the source said.
Caen, a city located in Normandy, 240 km west of Paris, will start their Ligue 2 season on Aug. 17 against Paris FC, three days after Mbappé is due to make his debut for Real Madrid in the European Super Cup against Atalanta and a day before the start of the 2024 LaLiga campaign with a trip to Mallorca.
muktv\newyorktimes
