By Ghazali Ibrahim
Belgian international and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has officially joined the ownership ranks of French football club Le Mans FC, as part of a high-profile investment group aiming to boost the club’s sporting and commercial prospects.
The 33-year-old shot-stopper has become a minority shareholder in the Ligue 2 side through his investment company NxtPlay Capital, the club and multiple news outlets confirmed on Thursday.
Courtois joins a growing list of international sports stars with stakes in the French club, including tennis great Novak Djokovic and former Formula 1 drivers Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen.
Le Mans FC, currently fifth in the French second division, is in contention for promotion to Ligue 1 and hopes the new investment will accelerate its rise up the football pyramid.
The involvement of Courtois and other celebrity investors comes as part of a broader restructuring led by Brazilian investment fund OutField, which recently became the club’s majority shareholder.
In an official statement, Le Mans highlighted Courtois’s dual value, bringing both sporting experience and international media appeal as the club pursues longer-term goals.
Plans unveiled alongside the ownership change include the reopening of the club’s youth training centre this summer, the development of new facilities and wider efforts to strengthen the team’s performance on and off the pitch.
Thierry Gomez, who remains board president, said the expanded investor group underscores confidence in Le Mans’s potential.
“This marks a new chapter for the club,” he said, adding that Courtois’s involvement reinforces the ambition to build a competitive and sustainable football project.
Courtois, under contract with Real Madrid until 2027, continues to captain both his club and the Belgian national team, but his decision to step into ownership reflects a growing trend among elite athletes to diversify interests off the field.
Le Mans’s strong performance this season, combined with experienced investors and infrastructure plans, gives fans hopeful that the club could soon return to France’s top tier for the first time since 2010.
