The news broke on Friday evening: Olympique Lyonnais was heavily sanctioned by the DNCG. Indeed, OL suffered a recruitment ban, a control of its payroll, and above all a provisional relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the season. Despite John Textor's optimism, the financial policeman of French football has decided to strike hard.
Olympique Lyonnais therefore has a few months to redress the financial situation, which should result in a turbulent transfer window in terms of departures. But OL should not be the only club to be obliged to downsize its squad in January.
At the end of last season, the owner of RC Lens, Joseph Oughourlian, dropped a bombshell by announcing he wanted to sell for 110 million euros (or at least €50 million net) during the summer transfer window, and this in projection of a huge deficit at the end of the 2024-2025 season.
A goal that is far from having been achieved. Indeed, the Lensois club sold players worth €35M, but recruited €15M. The balance is therefore only positive by 20M€, for a net which is around 7/8 million euros. Of course the aborted transfers of Kevin Danso and Neil El Aynaoui clearly undermined Lensois' objectives. Because yes, with the sales of these, the RC Lens would have hit the nail on the head.
Should we fear a sanction from the DNCG? According to journalist Romain Molina (video below), this clearly cannot be ruled out. The latter believes that the president and owner Joseph Oughourlian will have to put his hand in his pocket. If a departure for Kevin Danso is still on the cards, what about El Aynaoui and Khusanov? Particularly coveted given his huge start to the season, can the young Uzbek defender be sold during the next transfer window? Uncertainty therefore remains among the Sang et Or…
