Tennis star Novak Djokovic among investors to buy a stake in second-tier French soccer club Le Mans
Le Mans said in a statement that they join other new financial investors into the club, including Latin American sports investment firm OutField and Georgios Frangulis, the founder and chief executive of OakBerry. Frangulis is the boyfriend of three-time women's Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka.
"The uniqueness of this fund also lies in its contribution from high-level athletes," Le Mans president Thierry Gomez said in the statement. "Novak Djokovic, Felipe Massa, and Kevin Magnussen will be part of the adventure.'
No financial details were given.
Djokovic is the owner of a men's record 24 Grand Slam titles in tennis.
The 38-year-old Serb has won 100 career titles overall.
Massa won 11 races and secured 41 podiums in his F1 career. When driving for Ferrari, the popular Brazilian was within a whisker of winning the 2008 title, only for Lewis Hamilton to beat him in a dramatic finish at the last race. Hamilton won the title by 98 points to 97.
The 32-year-old Magnussen drove close to 200 races in F1, securing one podium and one pole position. But the Danish driver was not retained by Haas at the end of last year when his contract expired.
Le Mans soccer club, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, begins its league campaign on Aug. 9.
Le Mans — a small city in northwestern France — also hosts the famed 24-hour endurance car race. ___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
2 minutes ago
- New York Times
Naomi Osaka's comeback rolls on as she reaches first WTA 1000 final since 2022
Naomi Osaka is rolling once more. Twenty months into her comeback from maternity leave, Osaka is back where she wants to be, playing in the finals of a big-time tournament, riding those big, booming balls off the ground to win after win. Wednesday night at the Canadian Open in Montreal, Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who hasn't won a tournament since the Australian Open in 2021, had her way with Clara Tauson of Denmark early and outslugged her late to win 6-2, 7-6(7) to make her first final of a tour event since January in New Zealand. Advertisement The only wobbles from Osaka came in the second set, when she was on the cusp of a 6-2, 5-2 lead that would have felt nearly insurmountable given how cleanly she'd been striking the ball all evening. But after a couple of errors on game points, Osaka's first serve grew shaky and Tauson was able to smack her way back into the match. A game later, Tauson had knotted the set, and then on they went to the tiebreak. That's where good fortune set in for Osaka. She was a point from elimination early in this tournament. She was a point from being forced into a third set in the semifinal Wednesday night against Tauson. But Tauson cut two serves too close, missing the lines by inches, or even less, and double-faulting to allow Osaka back into the match. Osaka smacked a forehand return to earn a second match point, and Tauson whacked a second serve return into the net, giving Osaka the win. The victory sets up an enticing final, with Osaka, one of the biggest stars in the sport, facing Victoria Mboko, the 18-year-old Canadian who appears destined for big things, maybe as soon as Thursday. Mboko charged back from a set down and saved a match point on her way to toppling Elena Rybakina in three sets and a deciding tiebreak in front of a wild Quebecois crowd in Montreal waving 'Allez Vicky' signs. It's Mboko's first Tour-level final of her young career. She was fighting her way through Challengers during the first months of the year. It's Osaka's first WTA 1000 level final since 2022, when she lost to Iga Świątek in Miami. Osaka's roll has once more proven the age-old cliche in tennis, that salvation might always be just one tournament and one good week away. She'd lost six of eight matches heading into the Canadian Open, six of her last eight defeats had come in three sets, with the decider either going 6-4 or 7-6 against her. One of the exceptions was a straight-sets defeat to Emma Raducanu in Washington, D.C., which precipitated her split with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who had taken the place of Wim Fissette last fall. Advertisement In interviews and news conferences, both Osaka and Mouratoglou had given the impression that communication was at times complicated. Osaka found it difficult to share her feelings, he said; Mouratoglou might feel he was wasting his time with her, having coached someone on the level of Serena Williams, Osaka said. Świątek's former coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, has joined Osaka for a trial period in Canada, and so far, the new coach bounce is bouncing. Wiktorowski specializes in simplifying the game. Osaka has played simple tennis in Montreal all week. And now she's in the finals of a big-time tournament — just where she wanted to be. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Karen Khachanov outlasts top-seeded Alexander Zverev to reach the Toronto final
TORONTO (AP) — Eleventh-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia outlasted top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday night to reach the National Bank Open Open final. The 29-year-old Khachanov, a seven-time winner on the ATP Tour, will face the winner of the all-American second semifinal between second-seeded Taylor Fritz and fourth-seeded Ben Shelton. Zverev, the 2017 champion with 24 tour titles, is ranked third in the world. He ended up the top seed with top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the 2023 winner — and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipping the hard-court tournament. ___
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Canadian teen Mboko reaches Montreal final, beating Rybakina in 3rd-set tiebreaker
MONTREAL (AP) — Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko rallied to reach the National Bank Open final, beating ninth-seeded Elena Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday night. The 18-year-old Mboko dropped to the court after Rybakina's shot sailed long on match point as the crowd — lined with 'Allez Vicky' — erupted. Mboko saved a match point in the third set and broke Rybakina twice to force the tiebreaker. Mboko, ranked 85th in the world, is seeking her first WTA Tour title and trying to join Faye Urban (1969) and Bianca Andreescu (2019) as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era. On Thursday night, she'll face the winner of the second semifinal between Japanese star Naomi Osaka and 16th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark. From Toronto, Mboko will move up to at least 34th in the world after starting the year outside the top 300. She upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the quarterfinals, then topped Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Monday. From Kazakhstan, Rybakina won at Wimbledon in 2022. She has nine career WTA Tour victories, winning in May on clay at Strasbourg. Rybakina beat Mboko 6-3, 7-5 last month in Washington. ___
