Can the future of the club still be written with Waldemar Kita?

The FC Nantes may be at a turning point in its history, but above all at a dead end. The players ensured the maintenance in Ligue 1 on Sunday, trembling, but this sporting verdict, unexpected a few weeks ago, does not eclipse the deep evil that has plagued the Nantes club for two decades now. The Socpresse had started the work of destroying a national reference with an ax. In 2007, Waldemar Kita continued the demolition business, cutting through the DNA of the FCN over the fourteen years of his presidency. Today, the institution is in peril. Tomorrow, it will be too late. “Things have to change, it can’t last any longer …” an employee confided to us, relieved after the maintenance on Sunday evening but worried about the future.

A president hated by many supporters

“But what will happen next season if he continues? Something serious is going to happen, it is not possible otherwise… ”Within the FCN itself, the possibility of a status quo at the head of the club is anxious. The probable return of the public in the stadiums for the months to come increases the concern. “The fracture is irremediable between Kita and some supporters, we are worried when we see the turn of events on Sunday evening”, blows an anonymous source at the town hall of Nantes. After the defeat (0-1) against Toulouse, hooded people entered the stadium to attack club employees. Waldemar Kita and his son Franck had left the scene a few minutes before. “These excesses of violence are not tolerable and are reprehensible, believes Ali Rebouh, sports assistant at the town hall, who is to discuss the related occupation agreements of Jonelière and the Beaujoire stadium with the Nantes leaders in the coming days. . It doesn’t solve anything. The FCN should file a complaint.

Why this violence just after acquiring the maintenance? The aggression was apparently provoked when some Nantes supporters learned that the coffin of “FC Kita”, buried a little over eight days ago, had been unearthed by the management of the FCN and close collaborators! According to information from 20 minutes, employees and department directors were also present on site. Some helped dig, others just watched the scene. An action, which would be on the initiative of the agent Mogi Bayat, judged as an ultimate provocation by the ultras.

A very vague sporting future

The Canaries will have a ninth straight season in the top flight from next summer. By having obtained the maintenance, Antoine Kombouaré has two years of contract automatically. Sunday evening, after the defeat (0-1) against Toulouse, he nevertheless left doubt as to his future at the club … With a mischievous smile, he launched on a possible future collaboration with his management during the next transfer window: “I know it’s not always easy [ici]. When I come there, I come to familiar ground. “

Moreover, what face will the future team have? A departure of high-value players is inevitable. Imran Louza, whose agent is Mogi Bayat, could join Watford. The player was even seen on Monday in London with his agents, according to
RMC. Kolo Muani, who will not extend to Nantes and who has one year of contract left, wants to join Germany, despite an interest from Lyon.

Thanks to a great end of the season, Ludovic Blas is very much courted (in France and Spain). And Alban Lafont, whose option to buy was lifted a few weeks ago by the FCN, could also pack his bags. With a loss of nearly 40 million euros this season, Waldemar Kita, released by some sponsors (Manitou and Maisons Pierre), needs cash to replenish its funds. The sale of these players gives him this possibility.

Behind the scenes, a potential buyer is active

Is Waldemar Kita a seller? After fourteen years at the head of the club, the Nantes president is listening to a possible takeover offer. A priori, no serious has yet arrived in recent weeks on his desk. To our knowledge, a case has been preparing for several months. It was released to the public in February. This is a project on which the former Canaries goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau and Philippe Plantive, manager of Proginov (FCN sponsor) are working on. At the beginning of the year, in order not to betray him, the business manager warned President Kita that he was trying to federate local businesses, some of which are partners of the club. The main associations of supporters are associated and kept informed of the progress of the project.

Friday, according to information from 20 minutes, Philippe Plantive and perhaps Mickaël Landreau will invite the media to explain where the case is. A commercial company bringing together different local businesses is about to be created. Objective of the weekend press conference: to publicize this local economic momentum with the financial surface necessarily quite insufficient to attract a very large investor who can raise enough funds to buy the
FC Nantes.