Paris FC arrives in Ligue 1 with colossal resources but measured ambitions

You can be president of a football club for nearly fifteen years and still experience new emotions. Pierre Ferracci knows something about this, as he prepares to savor the new status of Ligue 1 resident of his Paris FC (PFC), after many years spent in the second division. "There is a lot of pleasure and desire. We will undoubtedly have our eyes wide open like children to enjoy everything around us," says the 73-year-old manager. On Sunday, August 17, he will happily swap his Corsican vacation spot to attend Angers for the first PFC match in the top flight of the French championship in forty-six years (kick-off at 5:15 p.m.).

The first steps of the capital club – a name that is no longer the exclusive domain of Paris Saint-Germain – will be closely watched during this 2025-2026 season. "The media are chasing us," acknowledges Pierre Ferraci. And for good reason: PFC is not just any promoted team; it is expected to grow considerably in the years to come.

Are other French clubs undergoing austerity measures, triggered by the exceptional economic recession that professional football is going through? With a budget of around €130 million – the sixth largest in the league if the club had played in Ligue 1 in 2024-2025 – the club is not experiencing the crisis, thanks to the support of the Arnault family, who bought it in the fall of 2024 with the aim of making it a contender for European places in the medium term.

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