26/27 Preview #3: Le Mans FC
Le Mans FC are back in Ligue 1 McDonald's after 16 years away from the top flight, with Patrick Videira's remarkable double-promotion side looking to complete the next chapter of the club's revival by establishing themselves among the elite.
Last season
Few would have expected Le Mans to be preparing for Ligue 1 football this summer. Having only returned to Ligue 2 following promotion from the National in 2025, Les Sang et Or immediately mounted another promotion challenge and ultimately finished second with 62 points, losing just four of their 34 league matches.
Their promotion was secured in unusual circumstances on the final evening of the season. Le Mans were leading 2-0 away to Bastia, thanks to goals from Erwan Colas and Milan Robin, when the match was abandoned late on following incidents in the stands. The result was subsequently enough to confirm a second successive promotion and a first season in Ligue 1 since 2009/10.
It represents another extraordinary step in the recovery of a club that suffered an administrative relegation in 2013 and was forced to restart in the sixth tier of French football. Thirteen years later, Le Mans are back at the highest level, while the enthusiasm surrounding their return is already clear: the club stopped its season-ticket campaign after reaching a record 13,500 subscribers.
>> From the wilderness back to Ligue 1: Le Mans FC’s long road home
The coach: Patrick Videira
Patrick Videira has been the driving force behind Le Mans' rapid ascent. Appointed in 2024 when the club were still in the National, he has overseen consecutive promotions and was rewarded this summer with a new contract. Across his first two seasons, Le Mans recorded 43 victories in 78 competitive matches under the 49-year-old.
Videira has built his success around intensity, character and a strong collective identity, qualities he has no intention of abandoning simply because Le Mans are now playing in Ligue 1. "Difficulty has to be our essence," he said ahead of the new campaign. "It's part of our mentality."
That mentality could be crucial to their survival hopes. Videira has stressed the importance of retaining the humility that carried Le Mans through the divisions, while also insisting that his side cannot approach the season merely hoping to survive. After a promising pre-season victory over Angers, he also called on his players to preserve the "carefree attitude" that has characterised their rise.
Key arrivals
Le Mans have looked for Ligue 1 experience without abandoning the recruitment strategy that helped them climb the divisions. Billal Brahimi is a familiar face, returning to the club five years after an outstanding first spell in which he scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists in the National. The Algeria international has since played 69 Ligue 1 matches with Angers, Nice and Brest and returns after spells abroad with Santos and Estrela Amadora.
There is further experience in Louis Mafouta, one of Ligue 2's most reliable goalscorers in recent seasons. The Central African Republic international arrives from Guingamp having scored 50 goals in 134 second-tier appearances for Quevilly-Rouen, Amiens and EAG. He has settled quickly, too, scoring five times during the opening weeks of Le Mans' pre-season preparations.
Yasser Larouci adds another player familiar with Ligue 1 after signing a three-year deal, while 22-year-old right wing-back Rayan Bamba has joined on loan from Stade Rennais. Daouda Traoré, formerly of OGC Nice and Southampton, is the fifth addition of the summer and provides another youthful option in midfield.
Key departures
Continuity has been one of the themes of Le Mans' summer, with the club so far managing to retain the majority of the squad that earned promotion. Captain Samuel Yohou remains at the heart of the defence, while Dame Gueye, Antoine Rabillard and Erwan Colas — three of their principal attacking contributors last season — are also preparing to make the step up. Gueye finished as their leading scorer in Ligue 2 with 10 goals.
There have nevertheless been several departures around the edges of the squad. Anthony Ribelin has joined Amiens and Taylor Luvambo has moved to Romania with Argeș, while Malang Gomes returned to Nantes and Isaac Cossier to Lille following their loan spells. Youngster Izhak Hammoudi has meanwhile been loaned to Bourges.
Videira has indicated that further movement remains possible before the end of the window, with Le Mans still looking to strengthen in central defence and potentially add another midfielder and attacker.
Remember when...
Le Mans' finest Ligue 1 campaign came in 2007/08, when Rudi Garcia led the club to ninth place — still their highest-ever top-flight finish. It was a side containing an extraordinary collection of players who would go on to become familiar names across European football.
Yohann Pelé was in goal, Marko Baša marshalled the defence and a midfield containing Romaric, Daisuke Matsui and Stéphane Sessègnon supplied an attack featuring Gervinho and Túlio de Melo. The latter scored 13 league goals as Le Mans finished in the top half of the table.
Almost two decades later, the challenge facing the current generation is rather different. Simply establishing Le Mans back in Ligue 1 would represent another major achievement for a club whose route back to the elite has been anything but straightforward.
Cult hero: Frédéric Thomas
The history of Le Mans contains more famous names, from Didier Drogba and Gervinho to Stéphane Sessègnon and Grafite, but few players have been as closely associated with the club as Frédéric Thomas.
Developed at Le Mans, the midfielder spent 12 professional seasons with Les Sang et Or across two spells, making 368 official appearances for the club. He experienced promotion to Ligue 1, relegation and another immediate return to the top flight before later coming back after two seasons with Auxerre.
A former captain, Thomas eventually returned to Le Mans once again after retiring and now works within the club's academy. His longevity and continued connection to the club make him a fitting symbol of Le Mans' identity as they prepare to return to the stage on which he once represented them
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