Premier League: A Louis-Dreyfus leads Sunderland back to the top

Although Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, 28, owns AFC Sunderland, he avoids the public eye. Fittingly, his Instagram status line reads: "No Facebook, No Twitter." The Premier League 's youngest chairman hasn't given any interviews in years either – if at all, he occasionally posts on Instagram. Like last Saturday, when the Swiss billionaire heir posted the Premier League table after his club's surprise win over Chelsea, secured in injury time. He probably couldn't believe his eyes: The "Black Cats," who in the past seemed to attract all the bad luck in the football world, temporarily moved up to second place as newcomers to the league.

Although the club from England's northeast dropped two places due to the results of their rivals the following day, they are still in as good a position as they have been since the last century. French coach Régis Le Bris's team equaled their 26-year-old record starting in the league and, with 17 points after nine matchdays, are the sixth-best promoted team in league history. The Sunderland Echo , six years older than the club founded in 1879, noted precisely that "scenes of boundless euphoria" had unfolded on Saturday. The fans' state of emergency was reminiscent of the six championships (1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, 1936) – because they had almost given up all hope in the meantime.

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In 2017 and 2018, the proud Sunderland Association Football Club was relegated from the Premier League to the third-tier League One within two seasons – both times finishing bottom of the table. The club's fall from grace was similar to that of its tough hometown, which has lost jobs and prosperity since the shipyards stopped building ships and the coal mines closed. The Black Cats' fate even attracted the streaming service Netflix, which documented the club's decline and the fans' despair in the series "Sunderland 'til I Die." The series begins in St. Mary's Church, the church in the center of Sunderland, where a priest asks for divine assistance for the club – as if only prayer can help.

The prayers were virtually answered: AFC achieved resurrection – under Louis-Dreyfus. At the end of 2020, shortly after his 23rd birthday, he took over as majority shareholder of the then heavily indebted and comparatively affordable club and expanded his influence. He now owns 64 percent of the shares; the remaining 36 are held by his business partner Juan Sartori. The son of Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who died in 2009 at the age of 63 – known in this country as the former Adidas CEO and mastermind behind the 2006 World Cup in Germany – recognized the potential of the chaotic club.

Kyril made an exception for Sunderland, having previously disappointedly confided to L'Équipe that his family no longer wanted anything to do with football , calling it a "shady business." He justified his decision by stating that Sunderland AFC was a "special project" due to its huge fan base. By this, he likely also meant the prospect of significant financial benefit from a renaissance of the club. At Sunderland, his involvement was initially met with skepticism. Many considered him a young man who just wanted to play a round of real-life football manager with their club. This was especially true since Louis-Dreyfus had previously dropped out of his sports management studies in England after just a few semesters.

But it soon became clear that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who abbreviates himself as "KLD," had a very clear idea of ​​how he wanted to reorient Sunderland. He consistently relied on young, unknown players because they were significantly cheaper than experienced professionals. After a year and a half, the club was promoted to the second division – and after three more seasons, to the Premier League. He dedicated his success to his father, whose love and flair for football had shaped him from an early age. On Instagram, he shared a black-and-white photo of the senior player wearing an Olympique Marseille jersey, a club his father had once bought himself. He captioned the caption: "Premier League. This is for you. Your love for the game lives on. We miss you."

Sunderland hasn't changed its strategy in the top flight either. In the summer, the club spent almost €200 million on transfer fees – primarily on talented players from abroad. These investments were financed by high TV revenues and the sale of Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund (€30 million). However, sporting director Florent Ghisolfi, his colleague Kristjaan Speakman, and coach Le Bris, who are given free rein by Louis-Dreyfus, concluded that the Premier League also requires experienced leaders. Management signed former Leipzig player Nordi Mukiele from France for the defense and, with the help of Louis-Dreyfus's contacts, signed Swiss player Granit Xhaka from Leverkusen as the new captain. Both have contributed significantly to the strong start to the season.

The club's former managing director, Jim Rodwell, praised the Athletic , saying that Louis-Dreyfus never intended to invest his family's wealth in Sunderland AFC. Instead, he wanted to develop the club organically. One of his strengths in dealing with the troubled club was "tuning out all the noise." Even now, Louis-Dreyfus remains calm: In his recent post, he thanked the fans for their support and praised the team.