In addition to being the most fortunate of the three relegated Ligue 1the club of Lorient will also be the one that spends the most among all the clubs in Ligue 2 (including Bordeaux, which until now was above all the others), by a factor at least four or five times higher than the median of the clubs in our championship with a minimum budget of €45 million after restructuring! Even without the TV rights, the Merlus have a very large financial surface and want, like Angers (to a lesser extent) last year, to keep the majority of their players under contract in order to bounce back immediately and return to the elite. Questioned this week by the daily newspaper L’Équipe, the president Loïc Féry does not make tongues and announces the color very clearly: you must be promoted in 2025 whatever the cost. And apart from two players, no other element of the squad will be able to force a cheap start.
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“We are quite clear. In terms of the workforce and the budget, the objective is to return to Ligue 1 as soon as possible. Not within two years. Laurent Abergel wants to return to Ligue 1 immediately, Olivier Pantaloni wants to return to Ligue 1 immediately, Loïc Féry wants to return to Ligue 1 immediately […]. This relegation doesn’t change anything at all (in my investment), on the contrary. In two years, the club will be a hundred years old and we want to celebrate it in Ligue 1. That’s why we’re keeping the infrastructure of a Ligue 1 club and why jobs will be protected. I’m extremely motivated and determined to bring FC Lorient back to the elite as quickly as possible and continue to maintain this extraordinary enthusiasm. We sold out ten times at the Moustoir last season, which had never been the case.”
“The idea is to keep as much strength as possible and we are pleased that Laurent Abergel has chosen to stay and extend. There are also quite a few players returning from loans and who shone in Ligue 2, such as Sambou Soumano (QRM), Pablo Pagis (Laval) and Adrian Grbic (Lucerne). Only a few players have exit vouchers, like Yvon Mvogo and Montassar Talbi. We are in high demand on some, notably Mohamed Bamba and Panos Katseris, but they will stay at FC Lorient. The club has control over most issues and movements will only be possible if the club finds its way. »
The full interview can be found in L’Équipe.
Photo Dave Winter/FEP/Icon Sport
