When you think of Le Mans, the first thing that comes to mind is the roar of engines and the legendary 24-hour race. But there's another story racing through this French town—one that involves a football club's incredible journey from the depths of the sixth tier to the brink of a top-flight return.
Le Mans FC hasn't seen Ligue 1 since 2010. After bankruptcy in 2013, the club plummeted all the way down to the sixth division of French football. It was a long, hard road back, but last summer, the club not only returned to Ligue 2 but also welcomed new owners with a star-studded lineup: OutField, a Brazilian investment group backed by Novak Djokovic, Felipe Massa, Kevin Magnussen, and later, Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
"We wanted to bring really high-profile people who could help us leverage the project from a branding perspective," says OutField co-founder Pedro Oliveira. The connection to Massa and Magnussen? It's no coincidence—both former Formula 1 drivers naturally align with Le Mans' motorsport heritage. The link was forged through Georgios Frangulis, founder of Oakberry and now an investor and operating partner at the club. Frangulis, who is also married to world number one tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, introduced the project to Djokovic, a self-confessed football fanatic. "He liked the project, so he decided to invest," Oliveira adds.
Courtois, too, was drawn in. "He really liked the whole idea of what Le Mans is building," and reached out to join the project in February. For club president Thierry Gomez, who has been at the helm since 2016 and played a key role in rebuilding after bankruptcy, having investors who understand the world of sport is invaluable. "It is important that they know the world of sport because it is a world that has its own way of working," he says.
Now, the club is on the verge of something special. A win against Bastia on Saturday (19:00 BST) would confirm their promotion back to Ligue 1—a fitting acceleration for a club that has been climbing fast. For fans of the beautiful game, this is a story of resilience, ambition, and the power of a well-backed comeback.