Jean-Michel Aulas went back on his promise. After first announcing his withdrawal, he will remain number 2 on Philippe Diallo’s list in the next elections for the presidency of the FFF. An about-face which annoys Jérôme Rothen.
Football doesn’t just revolve around Olympique Lyonnais for Jean-Michel Aulas. Landed by the Rhone club by John Textor in 2023, the former president of Les Gones was finally able to bounce back into the world of football. In the following months, he became vice-president of the FFF to accompany Philippe Diallo. In addition, he chairs the first professional league in French women’s football, the LFFP. Enough to fill his schedule as he passed the age of 75 this year. This is not a detail for an entrepreneur who has been active for over 50 years. Jean-Michel Aulas had recently taken this issue of age seriously.
Rothen judges Aulas outdated for the FFF
Thus, he had just announced his intention to leave the post of vice-president of the FFF for the next federal elections and therefore for the second mandate of Philippe Diallo. But there was a twist this Thursday since L’Equipe revealed that Jean-Michel Aulas had changed his mind. The former OL boss wants to remain vice-president of the FFF for 4 more years. A stubbornness which triggered the anger of Jérôme Rothen on RMC. The former PSG player believes that Jean-Michel Aulas is no longer able to provide assistance to French football, being overwhelmed by the demands of modern football.
« I have a lot of respect for what he did in football before but if we talk about the person, Jean-Michel Aulas, he was fantastic in Lyon until 2012 and the cup victory. There were 11 years where Lyon did not win again. He talked to us about business and sportsmanship took second place. […] He became vice-president of Mr. Diallo. For a year, don’t tell me that you have heard him advise him well, even speaking out while we are experiencing an unprecedented crisis. I don’t blame him because for me he has already been out of his depth for 5-6 years with his club and even more so with the French Football Federation. he first said in his show Rothen s’igné before evoking, according to him, the real motivations of Aulas.
“And he, with a little perspective, said to himself a few weeks ago “I’m going to retire, I’m old enough to retire”. But, since the soup is good and we give them power they shouldn’t have… At 75, he’s hanging on. That means he’ll stay until he’s 79! But what will he bring to Mr. Diallo? We laugh but football is going badly, down, up… », concluded Jérôme Rothen. If Jean-Michel Aulas is no longer young, let us remember that Noël Le Graët remained president of the FFF until the age of 81 before his sudden resignation in 2023.
Related News :