Youri Djorkaeff on investing, SailGP and buying an English football club
French football legend Youri Djorkaeff and his son Sacha on their investment vehicle Playmaker, backing SailGP and buying an English club.
Two years after helping his country to win a home World Cup in 1998, Youri Djorkaeff was ticking off another life goal in France colours.
Only this time it was on the waters around New Zealand, where he joined the French challenger for the America’s Cup on board their boat for the semi-finals of sport’s oldest competition.
“It was one of the most fantastic experiences in my life,” Djorkaeff tells Morning Wire.
The celebrated former Inter Milan, Monaco, Kaiserslautern, Bolton Wanderers and New York Red Bulls forward, 57, now has another outlet for his love of sailing.
Through Playmaker, the investment vehicle he founded with his son Sacha, he last month bought a stake in the French team in SailGP, the fast-growing global racing series.
“We are excited because it’s a sport with innovation, new technology, green sport as well,” he adds. “And how the boats are sailing close to the fans, to the harbour, it’s very interesting.”
Adds Sacha, who worked in tech, advertising and private equity before establishing Playmaker: “We’ve looked at a lot of emerging sports and formats, and I think there’s a trend around challenging the incumbent leagues.
“Very few have been able to establish sports properties that are sustainable and have the potential to be really global. SailGP really stood out in that sense.”
Djorkaeff on friend and co-investor Mbappe
Youri Djorkaeff isn’t the only legendary French football name invested in the team, which suffered a crash during the Auckland leg over weekend; Les Bleus’ current star player, Kylian Mbappe, also has a minority stake.
“He’s a friend,” he says. “He is one of the best players in the world, but I like his mentality and am happy to be on board with him.”
Father and son describe Playmaker as an investment platform for providing strategic capital in sports entities from teams and leagues to consumer brands, media, and health and wellness.
“We look at macro trends and how major sports are being challenged. We’ve seen it in golf and sailing. In tennis it is happening as well,” says Sacha.
“If the economic or governance or any aspect of the structure of these existing sports and leagues can be put to the test, they’ll be challenged by new players.
“Being very close to that, seeing where the chips fall and being on the right side of these plays is how we look at things.”
They believe their combined expertise in football – Youri’s father, Jean, also played for France – and business, plus a pan-European outlook, give them strong credentials.
“We’ve seen a lot of private equity flow into sports, from the Middle East, the US, institutional capital that doesn’t always understand the complexities and nuances of a football club or a consumer brand in sports,” says Sacha.
“Investing in a meaningful way, a thoughtful way, and looking at it as a unique asset class, is important.”
Playmaker finding football investment elusive
Adds Youri: “Europe is a very specific market that we know exactly. We lived in England, Germany, Italy, France.
“Manchester is not London and Paris is not Marseille. For some investors, it’s France or it’s England. I think our knowledge is important.”
While their SailGP investment is in a French team, they say their choice of projects will be driven by cool-headed and pragmatic considerations.
A football club would seem an obvious option for Playmaker, if one fraught with risks. Their lack of investment in the game so far isn’t for the want of trying, says Sacha.
“It’s been two decades. The right one hasn’t come yet. But, yeah, we’ve been looking since I can remember,” he adds.
Youri says he has fielded opportunities to invest in clubs in England, France and Italy but that none has yet proved to be a good fit.
“We’ve been approached by many, many groups but for the moment, the price or the strategy didn’t suit us.
“But we are looking and I think it will come one day, and it will be maybe a majority stake or a minority. It will depend on the people who will be at the table.”