Novak Djokovic is diving into the football world in a big way. The tennis superstar and Georgios Frangulis – who’s dating tennis star Aryna Sabalenka – just became investors in a French football club.
This isn’t exactly surprising for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Djokovic has been a massive football fan for years.
He’s absolutely devoted to AC Milan from Italy’s Serie A. You’ll often spot him at their biggest Champions League matches, cheering from the stands like any other passionate supporter.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | 38 | 8,360 | 18 - 6 |
Caught in Football Chaos
Djokovic got a real taste of just how intense football passion can be during the 2025 Champions League final. Paris Saint-Germain won their first-ever Champions League title, beating Inter Milan – AC Milan’s biggest rivals.
The celebrations in Paris got pretty wild. Some fans used PSG’s historic victory as an excuse to cause trouble around the city.
Djokovic happened to be in Paris for the 2025 French Open at the time. He actually wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get back to his hotel safely because of all the chaos in the streets. Thankfully, he eventually made it back without any problems.
Buying Into Le Mans
Now Djokovic’s football involvement goes way beyond just watching matches. He’s joined a group of investors who bought Le Mans, a team that plays in France’s second division – just one level below the top Ligue 1.
Le Mans has had quite the roller coaster journey over the years.
They first made it to France’s top division back in 2003-2004. Got relegated immediately, then bounced back up. They managed to stay in Ligue 1 for four years before getting relegated again.
Things got really messy after that. The club faced serious legal troubles following their relegation from Ligue 2 in the 2011-2012 season. It got so bad that Le Mans was actually liquidated – completely shut down.
But football clubs have a way of coming back to life. Le Mans was reformed as an amateur club much lower down in the French football system.
Three straight promotions from 2016 to 2019 brought them back to Ligue 2. Then they got hit with some bad luck – relegated the following year when the 2019-2020 season got cut short because of COVID-19. Le Mans was sitting in the relegation zone when everything stopped.
After five years away, they finally earned promotion back to Ligue 2 last season.
Star-Studded Ownership Group
The future’s looking pretty bright for Le Mans now. This investment group is seriously impressive.
Frangulis, who founded the healthy fast food brand Oakberry, isn’t just putting money in – he’s taking an active role. He’s agreed to become the Chief Branding Officer, working directly with the club’s manager Thierry Gomez.
Djokovic bought his stake alongside some other pretty famous athletes. Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen, both former Formula One drivers, are also part of the deal. A Brazilian sports investment firm called OutField is involved too.
Planning for Life After Tennis?
Maybe this football investment is Djokovic thinking ahead to retirement. Though he’s definitely not there yet.
He’s previously mentioned wanting to compete at the 2028 Olympics. That’s still a few years away, so he’s clearly planning to keep playing for a while.
Hopefully tennis fans don’t have to worry about losing him anytime soon. Sure, he’s admitted that the physical demands hit harder in the later stages of Grand Slams than they used to. But after his 2025 Wimbledon semifinal loss to Jannik Sinner, Djokovic didn’t think that would be his last appearance at the famous grass courts.
What’s Next on Court
Djokovic’s next tournament is the 2025 Cincinnati Open. Interesting timing – he actually skipped that event last year after winning Olympic gold in Paris.
The field’s looking a bit thin this year though. Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner all pulled out of the 2025 Canadian Open, which definitely weakened the ATP lineup there.
But that just means more energy for Cincinnati and the tournaments that follow.
