LATEST: Football: Stéphane Richard, former CEO of Orange, takes charge of Olympique de Marseille
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He will have the difficult task of restoring order to the affairs of the Marseille club. Stéphane Richard, former CEO of the Orange telecommunications group, is the new president of Olympique de Marseille, the legendary club opting in the middle of a chaotic season for a more classic business manager profile. “All the boxes that were important to me, Stéphane ticked them, it was a fairly easy decision for me,” announced Friday April 10 Frank McCourt, the American businessman, who bought the Marseille club in 2016, during a press conference alongside Mr. Richard. Aged 64 and president of Orange from 2011 to 2022, also chief of staff to Jean-Louis Borloo then to Christine Lagarde at the Ministry of the Economy, Stéphane Richard will replace the Spaniard Pablo Longoria, removed from the presidency of the club in February after five years at the helm. He will take office on July 2, he told the press, after a transition period to which he will be associated. After Jacques-Henri Eyraud and Longoria, Stéphane Richard therefore becomes the third president of the McCourt era. Since the departure of Pablo Longoria, Alban Juster has held the position of president of OM on an interim basis. Bringing back “stability” After Longoria, a football man and transfer window enthusiast, who had to “learn” the job of president, OM finds with Stéphane Richard a more classic business manager profile with a very extensive CV. “I am not a football technician but of course I intend to get involved in all areas of the club’s life, including sports,” assured the new president. “The whole city thinks and breathes for OM. I am fully aware of the institution that this club represents,” underlined Stéphane Richard, recalling that he had completed his secondary studies in Marseille and remained attached to the city, where he has a residence. See alsoItalian football: the San Siro stadium soon to be demolished, the end of a myth? He also underlined that as president of the operator he had “put the name of Orange on this magnificent stadium that is the Vélodrome”. Frank McCourt, who was also looking for “a leader from a business and business point of view” is counting on him to ensure “that OM is profitable and sustainable”. “OM needs this leadership to bring stability, calm and sustainability to the club,” added the club owner. In the press release announcing his appointment, the club underlines in particular “the importance of placing the club in a stable and peaceful framework”. “A dream job” “I’m a football player, I’ve loved this sport since I was little,” insisted Stéphane Richard. “So bringing together these two loves, Marseille and football around OM is a ‘dream job’ for me”, displaying the objective “to include OM in the clubs which aim to play the Champions League every year”, by developing “a team that works”. “The club faces multiple challenges, it is a bit at a crossroads,” said Mr. Richard, referring in particular to “economic challenges, mainly because of TV broadcasting rights, a subject that I know quite well”, Orange having been a broadcaster of Ligue 1 for a time. The future president has expressed the ambition of achieving a “period of seriousness, appeasement, stability”. Regarding the club’s shareholder structure, Franck McCourt reiterated that he was open to the arrival of a “strategic partner”. But he also recalled that he “expects results on the ground”. Currently 4th in the French championship, therefore not directly qualified for the Champions League, OM are going through a chaotic season, marked by the departure of Longoria and by that, a few days earlier, of Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi. Now coached by Habib Beye, the Marseille team welcomes Metz, bottom of Ligue 1, this Friday evening at the Stade Vélodrome. With AFP
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by France 24 – Infos, news & actualités – L'information internationale en direct and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.