Joseph Oughourlian, president of RC Lens, in Paris, November 2, 2024. Franck Fife/AFP 048f349_sirius-fs-upload-1-ohrkoafo4anz-1739702766363-000-36lf6ka_123485
At first glance, nothing seemed to destine Joseph Oughourlian to lead a football club. Nor was there any indication that RC Lens would be topping Ligue 1 at midseason. It is at the intersection of these two unlikely trajectories that Oughourlian now stands, in December 2025, as president of the team leading the French championship. It is the club’s first time in that position since 2004 for what he calls “the biggest club in Hauts-de-France,” which heads into the winter break one point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.The 53-year-old Franco-Lebanese businessman remains unfazed. He runs the Blood and Gold — which he has presided over since June 2018 — with the same discipline he applies to his financial market investments. “I try to keep a cool head. A penny is a penny, and it shouldn’t be spent carelessly,” says the founder of Amber Capital,...
At first glance, nothing seemed to destine Joseph Oughourlian to lead a football club. Nor was there any indication that RC Lens would be topping Ligue 1 at midseason. It is at the intersection of these two unlikely trajectories that Oughourlian now stands, in December 2025, as president of the team leading the French championship. It is the club’s first time in that position since 2004 for what he calls “the biggest club in Hauts-de-France,” which heads into the winter break one point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.The 53-year-old Franco-Lebanese businessman remains unfazed. He runs the Blood and Gold — which he has presided over since June 2018 — with the same discipline he applies to his financial market investments. “I try to keep a cool head. A penny is a penny, and it shouldn’t be spent carelessly,” says the founder...
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