Ligue 1: "This situation is because of TV rights"... Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin is looking for investors for his club

Earthquake in La Paillade. Founded in 1974 by Louis Nicollin, and since then still in the hands of the family of its founder, who died in 2017 , Montpellier Hérault Sporting Club is looking to open its capital to investors. According to Challenges , MHSC, last in Ligue 1, has sent a document to the main French investment banks to this effect.

"We don't want to sell the club completely. We are looking for partners to prepare for next year. Our fall must be less painful at the end of the year," admits Laurent Nicollin, president of Montpellier, in the columns of the economic magazine.

To justify this historic opening of capital at the club level, the man who defended the DAZN offer tooth and nail, comparing the amount of the monthly subscription to depriving yourself of a restaurant per month (before apologizing), mentions the TV rights crisis : "This situation is because of the TV rights, we can't give money back ad vitam æternam. Before, we were doing well financially. But we were missing more than 30 million at the start of last season. We will always have to sell players next year", summarizes the Hérault president.

" We need to prepare for next year. We're throwing a hook into the sea. It can happen quickly, and we can find something before July. But it can take time, because sometimes nothing bites," adds Laurent Nicollin, who doesn't want to close any doors: "We're not sectarian people. We're not going to say: we don't want blonds or bearded men." In great sporting difficulty, the Héraultais are currently seven points behind Reims, the first non-relegation team.