- Jean-François Brocard believes that negotiations around the sale of OM will now take place "behind the scenes".
- "If buyers want to move, you have to move quickly, as long as the transfer market is still dynamic," says this sports economist.
- "As a rational person, I do not see how OM can be sold this summer as for a sale this summer", launches the lecturer at CDES.
After the gestures of Mourad Boudjellal, silence. For more than a week, neither the former boss of RC Toulon, nor the millionaire Mohamed Ayachi Ajroudi have given any interview. Only the name of the merchant bank mandated to buy OM has been filtered: it is the French bank Wingate. According to economist Jean-François Brocard, lecturer at the Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES) in Limoges, this silence is not necessarily a positive signal for OM supporters who dream of seeing their club change hands.
How to interpret this silence?
It makes perfect sense. Normally, a sale is made behind the scenes. Mourad Boudjellal wanted to put opinion with him because Frank McCourt and Jacques-Henri Eyraud have a very low popularity rating in Marseille. Boudjellal's strategy is that of popular, even populist, communication.
Do you think that is wrong?
For me, it is awkward, but I am not going to teach communication to Boudjellal: he is much better than me. He pretends to be an essential person and it is true that he has credibility through his sporting success in Toulon. But these methods are rare in the takeover of a club. I am not an advocate of this type of strategy.
Will he remain silent now?
Normally yes. Now it's a liar poker: we don't even know if an offer has really been launched. Moreover, in the case of OM, officially McCourt is not a seller.
Now is not a good time to sell ...
Indeed: the club is not at the top economically, the players' assets are not sensational, there are uncertainties about future revenues because of the Covid-19… For me, this is not the right one moment. They have brought the club up to sporting standards, but the training center remains quite weak, the stadium generates little revenue…
According to the accounting method, the # OM, in 2019, was worth € 231.25 million.
Assuming inflation in 2020 following the 2nd qualifying place in #LDC offset by the # COVID__19 crisis and the #FPF sanction, we can quite imagine a market value between 200 and 250M € pic.twitter.com/ 4uqSTlLVxQ
I don't think he has any interest in selling. Afterwards, I don't know the state of his private treasury: if he needs money, that would encourage him to sell OM.
Will the situation change quickly?
If buyers want to move, move quickly, as long as the transfer market is still dynamic. If you do this after the end of July, it's complicated. Recruitments for August are rarely the best. And it is very rare that a club is bought out when the season is launched.
You seem to no longer really believe it ...
It can go quickly, but objectively, I am not very optimistic: I find that it arrives late. Each passing day decreases the likelihood of it happening. As a rational person, I don't see how OM can be sold this summer. But sometimes there are irrational things that happen in Marseille…
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- Mourad boudjellal
- Jacques-Henri Eyraud
- Frank McCourt
- Marseille
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