Talks of “speed” and “acceleration” often dominate discussions about the French town of Le Mans, famous for its iconic 24-hour race. But now, those words describe its football club, which is rapidly rising with backing from top-tier athletes.
Le Mans FC has traveled a long road back since its last Ligue 1 appearance in 2010. After declaring bankruptcy in 2013, the club plummeted to the sixth tier of French football. Last summer, it returned to Ligue 2 while welcoming new owners, OutField. This Brazilian investment group brought along Novak Djokovic, Felipe Massa, and Kevin Magnussen, with Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois later joining the project.
“We wanted to bring highly prominent individuals who could help elevate the project from a branding perspective,” said OutField co-founder Pedro Oliveira. The connection to Massa and Magnussen, both former Formula 1 drivers, is clear given Le Mans’ motorsport heritage. It was forged through a mutual contact, Georgios Frangulis—founder and CEO of Oakberry, now an investor and operating partner at Le Mans. Massa had already invested in Frangulis’ company and had a close relationship with Magnussen. Frangulis is also married to Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one in women’s tennis, which led to the link with Djokovic.
“Frangulis told us Djokovic is crazy about football. We spoke to him, he liked the project, so he decided to invest,” Oliveira added. Courtois “really liked the whole idea of what Le Mans is building,” so he reached out to the investors and joined in February.
“It’s important they understand the world of sport because it operates differently,” said Le Mans president Thierry Gomez, who arrived in 2016 and helped rebuild the club after bankruptcy. Now, the team is on the verge of a top-flight return—a win at Bastia on Saturday (19:00 BST) would secure promotion.
When OutField arrived, Le Mans was financially stable despite the tough economic climate in French football and its recent struggles. That was partly due to Gomez’s management, but there was a ceiling that only outside investment could break. “There was no urgency; the club didn’t need help but wanted to grow,” Gomez said. “It wasn’t about survival, as it is for some, but about finding someone to take over.”
Le Mans, in the third division when takeover talks began, was attractive for many reasons—no debt and “great infrastructure,” according to Oliveira. Location was crucial. OutField took over Coritiba, a historic Brazilian club, in 2023 and led them back to the first division. When expanding to Europe, Oliveira emphasized a “focus on player development.” They examined seven clubs in Portugal and five in France, eventually zeroing in on the Paris region.
“The two main areas for player development are the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the suburban area around Paris. After seeing those numbers and some French football projects, we narrowed our search to within 250 kilometers of Paris,” Oliveira said. That aspect will be built from scratch. Le Mans’ academy closed in 2013, and Gomez plans to reopen it in July, making it the cornerstone of the project.
“Today, buying players and offering high wages isn’t on the roadmap. We’ll…”
