"It's signed. I haven't slept for the past three weeks. Now I turn off my phone. » Laconic message from Kyril Louis-Dreyfus on December 24, which barely reflects any major relief. If Sunderland, which belongs to England's football heritage and vegetates in League One (D3) (*), finally belongs to him, he did not expect such a game of backstage poker.
At the beginning of November , its
takeover bid on the Black Cats was unveiled; Margarita's son has released significant funds to
take the majority of the shares .
He expects to complete the paperwork in early December, at worst; he has already found the club's sporting director, Kristjaan Speakman. But it remains to settle small details that are not, namely to satisfy the past shareholders of the club, Stewart Donald, Juan Sartori or Charlie Methven, who want cash or keep a small position in the capital. American investors continue to prowl and serve as a means of pressure, "KLD" is on the verge of giving up on November 22.
He no longer wanted to do anything "in football, a rotten business" but Sunderland ...
Young man in a hurry, who celebrated his 23 years on December 18, he will prove all his determination by overcoming the last reluctance. This Sunderland file, he has been working on it for nearly six months, he knows why he plunges back into this environment which worsened the state of health of his father Robert, owner of OM from 1996 to his death in July 2009.
This microcosm that so annoyed his mother, Margarita, delighted to
cede the Marseille
club to Frank McCourt in October 2016, after seven years of regency.
“Following the sale of OM, I stuck to one idea: we don't do anything in football anymore, it's a rotten business, he confided to us recently.
But Sunderland is a special project, really. » Debt finally paid off after two raids, in 2017 and 2018, state-of-the-art infrastructure, a modern training center, a mad passion immortalized by the Netflix
Sunderland series
' Til I Die .
“In D3, before the health crisis, there were more spectators on average than in half of the PL. "
KLD added:
“The potential is in England. At OM, we didn't have the Vélodrome, which caused us a lot of problems; Sunderland owns its stadium, with the country's seventh capacity. The fervor of the people is reminiscent of that of Marseille. In D3, before the health crisis, there were more spectators on average (nearly 32,000)
than in half of the Premier League clubs. You can't buy this! In cities like Zurich, Monaco, nobody is interested in football, it limits the possibilities of expansion. "
He grew up well, the kid with the round face who accompanied his mother on the stadiums, a decade ago, between two weeks of lessons in a prestigious Swiss school. In love with trips to unknown lands, overwhelming encounters, wide open spaces and poetic dreams, his big brother Eric has never had a taste for football or OM.
Passionate about electro, regular visitor to the tonic nights of Ibiza where star DJs feast, his twin brother, Maurice, will leave the stands during his teenage years. Kyril has an obsession with the blue and white club; at night, he dreams of Mamadou Niang, Mathieu Valbuena or André-Pierre Gignac.
"He has absolute passion," explains Vincent Labrune, Margarita's trusted man who became president of OM (2011-2016).
He is also fascinated by his father, he took his slippers. "
": It is not in his nature and his mother, anyway, would not let him. "
Kyril spends his college or high school internships at the Commanderie, we see him on the golf carts driven by the OM stewards, he sometimes tries a little match with the under-17s of the club. At the weekend, after a private jet trip and a suite reserved at the
Intercontinental hotel , he spins with his friends from Zurich on the lawn of the Velodrome before the games. Baroque haircut, jeans with holes, khaki jacket and luxury wristwatch, they look like the Backstreet Boys and immortalize the moment on Instagram.
Some influence with OM agents in 2015
Mature, Kyril observes more than he enjoys himself. He exchanges with the agents who constitute the close guard of Labrune, the Luca Bascherini, Meissa N'diaye, Maxime Nana or Rodger Linse. He listens to Benjamin Mendy, Florian Thauvin or Steve Mandanda tell about their performances, their moods. One day in the summer of 2015, from Labrune's residence in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, he called Nicolas Nkoulou's agent, then coveted by the OL of rival Aulas, and insisted that the Cameroonian stay behind. OM.
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Kyril recently took advice from the new president of the LFP, Vincent Labrune. (L. Argueyrolles / The Team)
"He is lively, fast," continues Labrune, who became president of the LFP.
Very early on, he understood the issues. He takes up the torch, there is ambition, pride. He has a good memory, he will feed on past mistakes. He will not flare up: it is not in his nature and his mother, anyway, would not let him. "
With his mentor Labrune, relations were more distant after the sale.
“Kyril was angry with Vincent for betting everything on qualifying for the Champions League and player trading; for him, the two objectives at the same time were not achievable, testifies one close to the two accomplices.
Kyril discovered at a young age that trading could not be a viable business model. Solid marketing, brand promotion and training have been his themes since he came of age. " In September, KLD called Labrune for advice; they talked about payroll cap and data. The heir is ready.
