EXCLUSIVE | Bacary Sagna: ‘Loving football is one thing, but understanding it is something else. It is about business.’

EXCLUSIVE | Bacary Sagna: ‘Loving football is one thing, but understanding it is something else. It is about business.’ Get French Football News had the opportunity to sit down for a chat with former Arsenal, Manchester City and France defender Bacary Sagna to discuss the business of football. When you look at almost every French club having to sell players, do you think there’s any way that France can ever get back on at least the same level as other leagues, if not the Premier League, or is it too late? The beauty of France is its academies. We’re coming up with amazing players like Ayyoub Bouaddi, like Rayan Cherki, so yes, we have so much creativity in building players, so that each time another player will come and be the attraction of the league. This is the only way; otherwise, how can you compete? Do you think that it’s the authorities? They’re the ones who are guilty, if that’s the right word, because the young quality is there. There is a “product” to sell, but it’s just not being sold very well? Or they can’t sell it without the big stars? Today, if they have a meeting with Amazon, who is bankable apart from PSG’s players? No one. Amazon would be interested in having Lionel Messi on the channel, Neymar on the channel, because they saw the impact these guys are having. Why is Apple interested in MLS? Because of Messi. It’s a business.  Why were all the American sponsors jumping into football during the World Cup when no one likes soccer there? Because you know the attraction it brings by having those players. But if suddenly you remove France, you remove Argentina, you remove Lamine Yamal, you remove Portugal, the interest will change. It’s a fact.  So today, yes, of course the French league will struggle. But now, unless someone who really likes football has another vision or is a billionaire who just wants to own it, it’s going to be very difficult to have a sponsor that comes and invests because they’re going to lose money. No one will buy the rights. Can you imagine? They had to create their own channel!  So for me, they had a chance, a big chance to capitalise on having those players in the league, bringing more sponsors, making business, and they missed out on doing it. When Neymar was in the league, and then Mbappé came, everyone started watching around the world. You had people in Colombia watching the French league. Why? Because Mbappé is playing. Of course, we’re going to be focusing on Paris, but to watch, they need to buy the subscription and invest in the whole league indirectly. So I was upset because from the minute I heard the likes of Neymar being whistled, I was like, they don’t understand that soon this player will leave and then the football will go down. Fans will remain fans, of course. Fans are emotional. But at some point, you need to think, and this is the problem.  Loving football is one thing, but understanding it is something else. You have to be smart. And it is about business. Why do you think Ronaldo went to the World Cup this summer? They, they took him for business. So, it shows you that when you make a decision, you also have to include business in football today. And then they were hoping that something will come up. But first they were like, if we don’t bring Ronaldo, it will be a big problem. Why do you think Neymar played in the World Cup? The same reason. Mbappé, if he goes somewhere and he’s not playing, people come to watch Mbappé. They go to Real Madrid now to watch Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr., and Mbappé. Bring Real Madrid to Asia, and you don’t play those players – you will see how the fans will react. Argentina went to India and Messi didn’t play. Did you see the reaction? People started fighting in the stadium. They were upset because they came for Messi; they didn’t come for Argentina.  And people in Ligue 1 were coming for this type of player. We used to go to the stadium to see Messi, Neymar and Mbappé, and the minute you lose these players, then doing business is impossible. Yes, Bouaddi was in Ligue 1; he is an amazing player. But he’s too fresh. People will not pay to watch him. They appreciate the player, but he doesn’t have that power yet to do this. And not many players have it. At the time I was at Arsenal, Thierry Henry had it. But for me, he was the only player at Arsenal who had it. Manchester United – David Beckham had it, or Eric Cantona. Real Madrid is different because they had a bunch of celebrities, stars, the Galacticos . Why? Because Florentino Perez understood, you know, I need to bring players that are moving continents. He did. And look at Real Madrid today. It’s the biggest club. The revenue impact they have financially, I’m not surprised, because Perez understood. So if you’re saying it’s about business, it’s not really about the sport anymore, are you saying Real Madrid have made the choice, and they’d rather be selling the shirts than winning La Liga? You know, they haven’t won a trophy for two or three years… I think they’re okay with not winning for two years because they won so much before that it’s not going to impact them. If they had never won a trophy, OK. But they have broken every record; they are the club that has won the most Champions Leagues. They are one of the most successful clubs; they have amazing players, they have the biggest commercial revenues and sponsors, they are number one in the world. Every single player wants to play for Real Madrid at some point. So I think they’re fine with it. They’re fine with not winning for one year, two years, because they know their impact; they know that, business-wise, it’s the most profitable club in the world. So they can give Vinicius a new contract at €500,000 a week. But it’s not even affecting them because with the number of Vinicius shirts that they will sell, they can buy three or four more Viniciuses.  They understand that it’s all business. And why is Perez still Real Madrid president? He won the recent election because people know, like it or don’t like it, he’s an amazing businessman. He understands the game, not only how to bring in players, but how to bring in money. Whoever voted against him and removed him doesn’t understand football. These people, they don’t understand football.  Bacary Sagna was speaking exclusively to Get French Football News, courtesy of BetVictor Online Casino Read the first part of Sagna’s exclusive interview with Get French Football News HERE GFFN | Jeremy Smith