Threat of relegation with OL, sale of shares to Crystal Palace, project at Botafogo… John Textor and Eagle Football Holding are playing big in 2025. Regarding Olympique Lyonnais, the American has a precise road plan that he wants to set up.
Three more days in 2024 before the start of the new year. A festive period, we hope, for as many of you as possible. For John Weaver also, we hope that this time will be synonymous with prosperity and, why not, gifts from Santa Claus. This could help him in business, as he will have a lot to do in the first months of 2025.
The American will be expected at the turning point regarding his Eagle Football Holdings (EFH) project, on several points. On the side of Olympique Lyonnais in particular, he will have to provide answers to the questions surrounding the financial situation of the club. Because, we remind you, he is subject to sanctions by the DNCG. On November 15, the financial policeman imposed a ban on recruiting during the winter transfer window, a control of the payroll and above all, a relegation as a precautionary measure.
A situation “precarious“, “worrying“
All of this is frightening, of course, and causes concern. “If we only look at OL, it's worrying, precarious, deciphers Vincent Chaudelco-founder of the Sport Business Observatory. But it can be explained. For almost two decades, it has been organized to make the Champions League. This requires a particular structure, with a first team, a training center and an administration (sales, marketing, etc.) which is very important in terms of employees. (543 for the French scope in 2023-2024). However, he missed the European Cup several times, not even to mention the C1. And these other European competitions are not as profitable. Add to this the Covid period, and we understand how it has become economically fragile.“
An observation also made by Florent Bergmann. The latter is a member of the Limoges Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES). “It is worrying what is happening with Olympique Lyonnais, but I think that it is also an overall phenomenon linked to multiple ownership and that we still need to analyze, argument-t-il. It's very new. But compared to the information made public, yes, it is not very reassuring.“
A four-pronged strategy
So much for the context at the moment. Now, when publishing the results for the 2023-2024 financial year, the Eagle Football Group (formerly OL Groupe) has given the main axes of its plan in order to remedy this unfortunate situation. A strategy which consists of a contribution of 75 million euros via equity and player sales in December, an injection of 40 million euros (maximum) after the sale of shares in Crystal Palace and in obtaining €100 million as part of the introduction. Of course, the seven-time French champions will also intend to part ways with certain members of the squad. Both because it is too substantial, but above all because it will allow him to bring in money and save money.
These objectives should, on paper, help OL escape punishment from the DNCG. However, some have been mentioned for many weeks and have not yet been checked. These are obviously operations that require time, but in six months, we will have to give guarantees to the financial policeman. In this regard, an investment banker well versed in the world of football said: “To make the analogy, it is as if during a class project, a student came and said “I’m going to tackle this subject and I’m going to do it like that”and three months later, he hasn't made any progress and hasn't really worked.”
Textor must act fairly quickly
2025 should therefore be synonymous with action(s) for John Weaver and its teams. We can for example think of its participation in Crystal Palace, coveted by Sports bank. But it remains to be agreed on the modalities, because shares in his company would also be at the heart of the discussions. Ditto for the transfer of players to Botafogo and Olympique Lyonnais, among others, this winter.
We are therefore still today in the domain of hopes, and not in concrete matters. “The explanations are on paper, but I am afraid that these operations will not generate enough cash, believes Vincent Chaudel. But I wish I was wrong. For Crystal Palace, when you declare yourself a seller, that's not where you get the best offer. This can create a devaluation of its shares. For the IPO, if we have OL, Botafogo and Molenbeek in the fold, it is not the best team if you want to raise a lot of money. Today we are only talking about hypotheses.“
The authorities expressed their doubts
This inevitably raises questions. “With Jean-Michel Classesthere was an assurance that he would offset the losses with equity or partner current accounts at a given time if there was a problem. There, Olympique Lyonnais only has 39 million euros in equity left, which is very low when compared with the losses (25.2 million in 2023-2024, Editor’s note). We are in a tight flow situation, so the question to ask is, does the shareholder or the holding company have the means to compensate for the deficit?“, asks Florent Bergmann.
Doubts which justify for our experts the position of the auditors, who “are considering issuing an impossibility of certifying on the corporate and consolidated accounts” of the company. And mechanically, that of the DNCG at mid-season. “John Textor has not convinced in his ability to generate financial profitability and his ability to ensure the solvency of the club. For what ? Because there are a lot of commitments made with a more or less significant amount of uncertainty. For example, recovering 100 million euros via the stock market, nothing says that this will be possible. Ditto on player sales. The position of the commissioners is therefore entirely understandable because there is ultimately a risk of a lack of liquidity, which would threaten the financial health of OL.“, warns Florent Bergmann, who is a member of the National Directorate of Management Control at amateur level.
Good sports news
Now, Eagle Football Holdings is seeing some exciting news. They mainly come from Botafogo. The Rio de Janeiro team, by winning the Brazilian championship and the Copa Libertadores, brought in around 60 million euros, not counting its participation in the Club World Cup in December. Its footballers have also increased in value and transfers for large sums could take place. The money would then go to EFH, which will distribute it as it sees fit.
A possibility of replenishing the Rhone coffers therefore, knowing that Fogo’ benefited from a boost via a company created in June 2024 (OL Brazil). He must reimburse OL SASU and John Textor respectively €8.2 million and €35.4 million. The second sum was to be returned, with interest (6%), last July, the first on July 1, 2025. It should also be noted that the debts, which amount to €505.1 million, include €56 million of a contribution from John Textor and €24.6 million from the holding company. That is, €80.6 million which will, a priori, not be claimed immediately, unlike the line of €74 million for bank loans which will have to be paid, unless rescheduled, before July 2025.
Concerning the stock market, we already know that an investor, UCEA Capital Partners, has committed $40 million as part of a $100 million pre-IPO financing round. The introduction is scheduled for the beginning of the coming year. Finally, sportingly, Pierre's men Sage are meeting expectations for the moment, with a good campaign in the Europa League (4th) and a 5th place in Ligue 1, not far from the qualifying places for the lucrative Champions League.
Maintain competitiveness while resolving financial concerns
Some good and some less good, with deadlines that make us say that 2025 will be a pivotal moment for the Eagle Football project. “There are elements that can improve the economic situation in the eyes of the DNCG without the plan being fully implemented. But he will not be able to get out of it without implementing all or part of his strategy“, insists Vincent Chaudel.
But we will still have to maintain competitiveness at the end of the transfer window. “The month of January will be important, both financially and sportingly, continues the specialist. We will have to bring in money in order to reassure the DNCG, while maintaining a sufficiently high-quality workforce to continue the dynamic.”
Florent Bergmann is a little more measured. “Whether this year is more momentous than the others, I don't know. The financial situation is particularly tense. The potential retrograde makes this a pivotal year. But let's not forget, on a sporting level, that he could obtain a place for the profitable Champions League, and thus make commitments for the following season with greater income. I think that the DNCG is traumatized by the case of Bordeaux, rightly so, to see how it will influence the case of OLhe announces. It will not be abandoned, but there is a strong risk of ending up at some point with a complete drying up, and this is what the body noted.“To remedy this, John Weaver practically has an obligation to materialize its projections into concrete measures.
