A lot of money from Europe against a lot of money from Qatar: In French football, there is a Paris derby again after 35 years

When Jürgen Klopp took over as head of football at Red Bull last January, his first match was a second-division match. In front of a modest crowd of 6,500, Paris FC took on Amiens. Klopp's visit could nevertheless be interpreted as a declaration of intent. Red Bull may only hold a 10 percent stake in the French capital club, but in some ways, it's arguably the Austrian beverage company's most promising football project.

This is due to the location, but above all to the majority shareholder: 52 percent, which is to be increased to 80 percent in the coming years, belongs to the Arnaults, Europe's richest family. The fortune of patriarch Bernard Arnault is currently estimated at $170 billion, placing him fifth in the ranking of the world's richest people. The money flows into the coffers of the LVMH group , which owns, among others, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Christian Dior.

Last year, Arnault's fortune was still at $230 billion, ranking first. But the business world is also somewhat volatile these days. The Arnaults certainly have enough money to take on the Qatar-backed Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain – but that's only a medium-term prospect. "In sports, it's important to do things calmly," said his son, Antoine Arnault, when he announced the takeover in November: "We're taking things step by step."

For now, they managed to secure promotion to Ligue 1 last season. The campaign kicks off on Sunday with a match at Angers, followed by derbies with PSG on Matchdays 17 and 34. The city has been waiting for such a clash since the indebted, traditional club Racing Club fell into amateur football in 1990.

Football, once a working-class sport, struggled for a long time in the sophisticated capital—so difficult that the histories of the two current first-division teams are curiously intertwined. In 1969, the French Football Federation launched a project to finally establish a top-flight club in Paris, one that would play in the newly renovated Parc des Princes.

To find a name, a large survey was launched, with posters posted at all Parisian football grounds. The grassroots decided on Paris Football Club: Paris FC. 56 years ago, all that was missing was a license for professional football. As luck would have it, the suburban club Stade Saint-Germainois had achieved promotion to the second division. A merger later, Paris Saint-Germain FC was born.

It was not a happy marriage, even though they achieved promotion to the first division in 1972. The Paris city authorities put pressure on them to remove the "Saint-Germain" from the club's name, which they considered provincial, and threatened to withdraw subsidies and the club's right to play at the Parc des Princes.

The club consulted its members; a two-thirds majority at the annual meeting was required for the corresponding amendment to the statutes. Of the 939 valid votes, 632 were in favor – three short. This led to a split: Paris FC took over the professional team, while the former Stade Saint-Germainois restarted its reserve team in the third division, but continued to call itself Paris Saint-Germain. And while PSG returned to Ligue 1 in 1974 to stay, Paris FC was relegated that same year. They returned for just one season, in 1977/78, and there hasn't been a derby since.

Forty-seven years later, Paris FC is moving to the Stade Jean-Bouin, as if in homage to their former ties. Anyone who's ever been to a PSG match will recognize it: It's located right next to the Parc des Princes. It's said that two Premier League clubs have never played closer together. In Nottingham, the stadiums of Forest and Notts County are separated by a river. In the upscale west of Paris, it's just a sidewalk. Rue Claude-Farrère is 19 meters wide at this point, according to measurements.

In other aspects, convergence will take longer. "Pas de match," the newspapers write: a duel on equal terms is not to be expected yet. The worlds of a serial champion with an enormous fan base around the world and a club that has only achieved success with its junior teams in recent decades and even handed out free tickets in the second division to at least once reach 10,000 spectators are too far apart.

Paris FC is now offering season tickets for Ligue 1 for €350. Single tickets for the first home game against Metz on August 31st started at €10, and the match is almost sold out. The Jean-Bouin has room for 20,000 fans, and curiosity is growing. The new owners have ad hoc allocated €120 to €150 million, the sixth-highest budget in the league, behind PSG, which is far ahead with €860 million, as well as Marseille, Lyon, Monaco, and Nice.

The most expensive transfer so far is Brazilian defender Otávio, who joined from FC Porto for €17 million. This is a cheap price compared to city rivals PSG, but Paris FC did at least make a symbolic statement this week: The new kits for the first division were unveiled in a video clip by Raí.

The former Brazilian playmaker is arguably PSG's greatest legend, the captain of the team that won the first international title, the European Cup Winners' Cup, in 1996, long before the Qatar era. Many PSG fans fumed on social media about Raí's infidelity.

On the other hand, it fits in with the official language of both clubs. PSG CEO Nasser al-Khelaifi described LVMH and Red Bull's entry into football as "fantastic for Paris and fantastic for French football." The club's management is closely aligned, if only because Dior serves as the official outfitter of the PSG players.

Antoine Arnault is open about where his sympathies lie, "apart from twice a year, of course": "I've loved PSG since I was twelve. I had a season ticket for many years and am now lucky enough to be invited by my friend Nasser. You'll never hear anything negative about PSG from me."

Because their father, Bernard, 76, is more interested in art and was persuaded by his children to enter football, Antoine, 48, represents the Arnault family on the club's executive committees. He was already responsible for LVMH's strong presence at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games . The liaison between sport and glamour is currently experiencing historic heights, as can be seen in the density of stars in the stands of the Parc des Princes and the presence of athletes at fashion weeks.

With this football project, Antoine Arnault could also distinguish himself in the race to succeed his father, in which his older sister Delphine is currently considered the favorite. Although his father, Bernard, maintains a business-like distance from Paris FC, stating at the last LVMH annual general meeting that it is a family project and not a corporate investment, Antoine is convinced that the senior "with his business acumen has recognized the potential value creation surrounding the Paris FC brand."

Minority shareholder Red Bull is in demand less for the glitz and glamour than for its expertise. Despite all the discretion, Paris FC has one goal in mind: to make the club's youth academy the world's leading training facility. Red Bull will contribute, among other things, its "revolutionary data tools," says Antoine Arnault. According to media reports, former FC Bayern Munich head of scouting Marco Neppe is also set to be integrated into the Parisian organization.

A majority of French national team players already come from the Paris metropolitan area. Antoine Arnault sees the Île-de-France region as "the greatest talent factory in world football, even ahead of São Paulo," and says: "We want the next generation to mature into the best footballers in the world without having to leave the city."

This is precisely the vision Paris Saint-Germain has been formulating since shifting course away from superstars like Neymar and Lionel Messi and toward young, preferably French, players. When it comes to youth development, the two clubs will likely clash sooner than the compliments they receive from all sides suggest.

For the crisis-ridden Ligue 1, the new member represents a genuine glimmer of hope. After years of unsatisfactory TV revenue, the league will broadcast eight of its new top-flight matches independently this season. It's one of the last chances for a championship that recently had to pardon former serial champions Lyon in a last-ditch effort to avoid having their license revoked.

Why would Europe's richest family bother with a football club, given the panorama? Certainly not to smother their smaller neighbors forever.