Alexandre Lacazette, captain of Olympique Lyonnais, provided an update, responding to rumors concerning a possible departure to Saudi Arabia, both during the winter transfer window in January 2024 and for the last summer transfer window.
Mercato: Alexandre Lacazette confirms an important offer from a Saudi club
Present in Baku with OL to face FK Qarabag on the 5th day of the Europa League, Alexandre Lacazette will try to revive the Lyonnais in the race for direct qualification in the round of 16. To achieve this, Les Gones must win this Thursday in Azerbaijan. The Lyon captain and his teammates are left with a defeat against Besiktas (0-1) and a draw against Hoffenheim (2-2).
Before this crucial meeting, Alexandre Lacazette spoke about his future. He confirmed the interest of Saudi clubs since the 2024 winter transfer window and admitted to having declined a very important offer. “The numbers were high. It wasn't 17 million euros, but it was considerable. I refused a lot of money to stay at OL, because I wasn't comfortable with the idea of leaving at that time », he indicated on the media Carré.
Qualification for the Europa League disrupted Lacazette's plans
At that time, the Rhone club was threatened with relegation to Ligue 2. “I thought about it for a long time and talked about it with my wife who asked me if I wanted to leave Lyon. I said no, so it made sense to stay”explained the 33-year-old striker, before hammering out: “One person (who is not John Textor, editor's note) wanted me to leave the club last January”.
At the end of the 2023-2024 season, Olympique Lyonnais qualified for the Europa League. This qualification upset the plans of Alexandre Lacazette who had nevertheless decided to leave in June 2024 after refusing an offer in winter.
“The European Cup, it’s been a long time since I took part in it. Finally, everything is called into question with this unexpected qualification”.
Saudi clubs are still interested in the “General” whose contract ends in June 2025. He could leave OL this winter due to the club's difficult financial situation. But for the moment, Alexandre Lacazette leaves mystery hanging over his future.
