The stars of motorsport saved the football club Le Mans.

      Former Formula 1 drivers Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen once joined a pool of investors that managed to save the Le Mans football club from bankruptcy. This consortium also includes tennis legend Novak Djokovic and Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for the Belgian national team and Real Madrid.

      The French football club was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2013; however, its fortunes gradually improved thanks to the assistance that eventually arrived, and now it needs to earn just one point in today's match against Bastia to return to the top league of the national championship for the first time since 2010.

      The motorsport stars became part of the club's saviors primarily because they have strong ties to the French city of Le Mans: Magnussen has competed in the classic 24-hour marathon at the Sarthe circuit, and Massa has participated in various events held there, including starting the Le Mans Classic race last summer.

      They were invited to join the investor pool of Le Mans FC by Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis, an amateur racer known for being the partner of famous Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one. By the way, she was the one who helped him negotiate with Djokovic.

      Such unexpected and non-obvious alliances are possible in the world of big sports.

      Kevin Magnussen is preparing to once again start the "24 Hours of Le Mans" this year as part of the BMW factory team, which yesterday achieved its first victory in the World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class. The Danish crew finished second in Saturday's race in Spa.