This is a deal that has been brewing behind the scenes for over a year. And which the supporters themselves did not really dare to believe. This Monday, the news has however been confirmed: AS Cannes, a century-old club, trainer of Zidane, Vieira and Escudé among others, in full recovery (in National 2 next season) after a long slump, enters the bosom of the Friedkin group, already owner of AS Roma.
The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. But the American juggernaut of Dan Friedkin, best known for being a flourishing film producer (he is notably behind two of the last Palme d’or: The Square And triangle of sadness), has indeed become the “majority investor” in SAS Cannes football pro.
And it is his son, Ryan Friedkin, who will take the reins. “Our project is very serious and our sporting ambitions are very high”, he assured this Monday alongside the mayor (LR) of Cannes David Lisnard and the current patroness of the Dragons.
An improvement after a long air hole
Anny Courtade, 83, in office since 2019, was looking to sell. After months of negotiations and meetings with no less than 74 prospective buyers, she is therefore preparing to hand over the baton. But the tireless businesswoman, who had already led RC Cannes to the Women’s Volleyball Hall of Fame, will not drop everything all at once. She will remain president of the Sports Association of AS Cannes, in particular in charge of the women’s section and amateurs and which still holds 2% of the capital of SAS.
She will leave her hand “with a heavy heart” and with a good balance sheet after a very long air gap for AS Cannes. Vice-champion of France in 1933, involved in the UEFA Cup in 1991 and 1994, the club fell back to the Division d’Honneur Régionale (DHR), the seventh division of French football, in 2014. The Red and Whites will go back to National 2 (4th division) next season after a unanimously acclaimed 2022-2023 financial year. Anny Courtade’s players still finished at the top of their group “with twenty points more than the second, which is quite unique,” said David Lisnard.
“Win at least one division every two years”
“AS Cannes was bankrupt. She was put in order. Today, she is doing well and she is on the right path, also supported the mayor. We are dealing with the smallest club taken over by the most powerful of buyers. And that is proof of its attractiveness, linked to the Cannes brand and its history, to all those who have been trained there. »
With the arrival of the Friedkin group, eyes are turning more than ever to the future and the hope of a return to basics. “With football, everything is very random, but the objective is to win at least one division every two years”, ventured to forecast David Lisnard, welcoming with the arrival of the American investor an “extremely important for the future of the club, but also for our city”. Would league 1 therefore be for 2029 under the Friedkin era? “If they do a job as good and as prestigious as the one they are currently producing at Roma, we can only dream of seeing the club return to the top”, judges Darren Dreyfous, the vice-president of the association of Cannes 1902 supporters.
The current coach Jean-Noël Cabezas and the players have been renewed for at least one year. And new arrivals should be announced soon.