Ligue 2 / Caen: Kylian Mbappé becomes the new owner of the club
Announced in the final hours, the news is now official. Kylian Mbappé, through his investment fund Coalition Capital, has become the majority shareholder of Stade Malherbe Caen (Ligue 2), holding approximately 80% of the club. At 25, the new Real Madrid striker embarks on a new venture as a football club owner, assisted by Ziad Hammoud.
As the new forward for Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé is also starting a new journey as a club owner. In a statement released on Wednesday, Stade Malherbe Caen announced that the investment fund Coalition Capital (owned by the 2018 World Cup champion) had officially acquired the shares of Oaktree, the majority shareholder of the Ligue 2 club since 2020. The former Parisian has taken control of the Normandy club with an 80% stake.
Ziad Hammoud, former strategy and investment director at beIN Media Group and current head of the company managing the 2018 World Cup champion’s image, will assist him, likely as the future deputy president of SMC, thereby pushing out Olivier Pickeu, who has been in position for four years. “As the principal investor in this project, we are very enthusiastic about continuing the development of Stade Malherbe Caen alongside PAC Invest (Pierre-Antoine Capton, minority shareholder)”, Mbappé first stated.
“Our shared vision with the club, of sporting excellence and community engagement, is at the heart of our approach”, he added. “We are determined to create an environment where young talents can thrive and where the club can strongly and ambitiously defend its identity”. Kylian Mbappé, who nearly signed in 2013, was attracted by the various advantages of Stade Malherbe Caen: a well-regarded training center in French professional football (notably producing players like Mathieu Bodmer, Bernard Mendy, and Thomas Lemar), a football-loving community (10.000 people are already season ticket holders for the 2024-25 L2 season), and proximity to Île-de-France for connecting with future young talents from the Paris region.
Now, the Normandy club can launch its recruitment campaign ahead of the 2024-25 Ligue 2 season. For his first year as a club owner, Kylian Mbappé has a clear objective : promotion to Ligue 1 to continue developing his new structure.
