Reims and Montpellier are chasing the same horizon from different roads. Relegated in spring 2025 after a season in which Ligue 1’s television income collapsed, the two former top-flight clubs have rebuilt around younger squads and now sit on the Ligue 2 podium at the start of their second campaign down. Yet neither is presenting immediate promotion as a financial necessity.
Both clubs are among the youngest teams in the division and have the budgets, squads and recent standing to be considered natural contenders for a return to Ligue 1. But in Reims and Montpellier, the message is more measured: promotion must be sustainable, rather than pursued at any price.
Promotion without the old guarantees
For Reims chief executive Mathieu Lacour, the central issue is the club’s ability to adapt its model to the new financial reality of French football. A return to Ligue 1 would bring reduced spending power compared with previous years, making major transfer investments far harder to contemplate.
“The question is not really about ambition, but about how you reshape the model,” Lacour said. “If the aim is simply to get back into Ligue 1 and suffer there, I do not see the point. If you go up, you will have fewer resources, so how do you remain competitive? Buying players for €5m or €10m will no longer be possible.”
Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin has struck a similar tone. After the planned sale of the club was called off on June 29, Montpellier concentrated its efforts on building a competitive Ligue 2 side, placing academy players at the centre of the project while retaining a handful of experienced figures around them.
“We have focused more on a young team, with players from the academy as in the old days, supported by several senior players,” Nicollin said. “Since June 29, we have put all our energy into creating a competitive side capable of challenging near the top of Ligue 2. But we know very well that getting back to Ligue 1 is not easy.”
He described promotion as part of a longer cycle rather than a deadline. Montpellier hope to return to the elite, whether that comes this season or later, but Nicollin believes the priority is to maintain a structure that can develop young talent. He said it would be a lack of humility to promise promotion this year, adding that the club would go up only when it had earned it.
A smaller gap between the divisions
The changing broadcast landscape has weakened the old economic argument for reaching Ligue 1. Clubs competing in Europe remain in a stronger position, but the television-money difference between the rest of the top flight and Ligue 2 has narrowed sharply.
That means promotion is no longer automatically the major revenue lift it once represented. Higher gate prices could create additional income, while sponsorship and merchandise might also improve, but those gains remain limited.
Reims have been protected by their record in the transfer market. The Champagne club have generated around €270m from player sales since 2023, including regular deals exceeding €20m, and have continued to trade effectively despite playing in Ligue 2. Lacour said that work has allowed Reims to withstand life in the second division without laying off staff or reducing investment in the academy.
Montpellier hope their own youth development will eventually deliver similar returns. Until then, the Nicollin family remain a crucial financial safeguard. The club believes it can operate in Ligue 2 after reducing costs and cutting its wage bill.
For Nicollin, Ligue 1 remains the destination supporters, partners and club officials want because it is French football’s highest stage. But he sees no shame in Ligue 2, particularly at a time when only two places provide direct promotion. Reims and Montpellier may both be near the front of the queue, but neither intends to gamble its future merely to force the door open.
