Heavily sanctioned by the DNCG, the owner of OL, John Textor, does not give the impression of revising his project downwards, particularly with Botafogo…
Last Friday, John Textor was in Paris for the mid-season interview with the DNCG. Upon his exit, the American affirmed that the meeting had “gone well”. A few hours later, we learned that the financial policeman, not at all convinced by the American's project, had pronounced a recruitment ban for January, a control of the payroll and a demotion to Ligue 2 at the end of the season if the accounts have not been adjusted by then!
A real thunderclap to which Textor responded the next day, during a press conference that he had planned to give before the sections, to detail his plan. The leader continued to be positive. He plans to lower the payroll by around €50 million (from €128.4 to €74.3 million), to increase the squad from “29 to 23 or 24 players” and above all to take advantage of the end of the season in Brazil to recover cash via the sale of players from Botafogo and re-inject it into Lyon. “That’s the advantage of being a timeshare that shares liquidity and resources between all the clubs,” he said. And OL no longer bails out Botafogo. This year, Botafogo will have to replenish OL's coffers. But it’s a sharing relationship, it’s a family, and both sides benefit as we move up the charts from the bottom to the top of every chart in every market we’re in.”
He said the opposite in Brazil
Except that obviously, his message is not the same in Botafogo! And we can understand it because the Carioca club could win its first Brazilian championship title in 29 years (4 points ahead of Palmeiras with 5 days remaining) and the first Copa Libertadores in its history (final against Atlético Mineiro on November 30). Difficult, as he prepares to experience a historic end to the season, to announce that the team will be dismembered in two months to replenish the coffers of a distant French club…
Last weekend, John Textor gave a press conference in Rio de Janeiro in which he assured that ambition would still be present in 2025 among the Whites and Blacks. And that if there would be sales in January, they will be largely compensated: “Our plan for Botafogo is to sell a lot and buy even more. We aim to raise the level and be in the top three every year, fighting for the Libertadores every year. Fans might go crazy over sharing transfer details, but the players will go where they need to go. A large part of the fans in Brazil believe in me.”
He's playing a dangerous game
If sales of Botafogo are used in part to fill departures, this means that little cash will arrive in Lyon this winter. Knowing that the DNCG is expecting around a hundred million euros to remove the threat of a demotion at the end of the season, it is therefore through the sale of its own players that OL will have to go through to save themselves. Except that the winter transfer window is not the most favorable period for this, the prices there being lower than during the off-season. Furthermore, Textor will not have a club in the Premier League to artificially inflate a fee, given that he is in negotiations to sell his shares to Crystal Palace and has failed to buy Everton. By giving the impression of wanting to preserve both the interests of Botafogo and those of OL, the American businessman is playing a very dangerous game. Because the DNCG will not let anything pass and will not hesitate to carry out its threats.
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