Friday evening, it was a real blow that fell on the heads of OL supporters, but also of the Lyon management. With the specter of administrative relegation at the end of the season, the Lyon club has gone to the wrong side.
By taking the reins of OL in December 2022, John Weaver had not hidden his ambition and this had inevitably pleased the Lyon supporter nostalgic for years gone by. By first taking control with Jean-Michel Classes then alone from May 2023, the American wanted to see OL fight with PSG and try to secure a first title since 2012. There was the final of the Coupe de France last May, but since almost two years, there was talk of a waltz of coaches, of a race to maintain before the thinning symbolized by Pierre Sage.
And what about next with a control of the payroll and transfer compensation in the summer of 2023? It was not a first on this point, but on Friday, the Lyon club moved into a sphere which was not really the one hoped for in December 2022: the DNCG chose to ban OL from recruiting for the winter transfer window 2025, but above all imposed a demotion as a precautionary measure at the end of the season. OL are not yet in Ligue 2 or even lower, but the shock wave is there for a seven-time French champion.
Cash, lots of cash…
This Saturday, at 11 a.m., John Textor will give a press conference and he will once again be expected. He was already there late Friday morning and despite his ambient optimism, he failed again. This was already the case in June 2023 and the fault had been partly placed on the back of Santiago Cucci, a novice in the field. On this November 16, the American can only blame himself and himself alone. He will most certainly brandish the fact that his club is paying for certain criticisms of the LFP and its president as well as a club in the capital.
This is most certainly true, but PSG or Vincent Labrune have nothing to do with OL's convoluted financial situation. The PowerPoint presented on Friday and which will also be presented this Saturday will attempt to prove through A + B that the multi-ownership system can offer a bright future to the Lyon team. There are still a few valiant people who support this strategy put in place by Textor, but no one is fooled. Seeing OL being threatened with administrative relegation, you have to go back to the dawn of time to find any trace of it.
If he is probably not happy with the current situation of OL of which he is one of the gravediggers, Jean-Michel Aulas must nevertheless have a little smile when seeing the management of his successor. What is it anyway? Nobody really knows, but one thing is certain: John Textor will have to find cash, a lot of cash to maintain control and prevent OL from going under. No one in the Lyon environment wants to experience the same episode as that of the Girondins de Bordeaux. Unfortunately, there aren't 50,000 solutions. Only substantial inflows of money will satisfy the DNCG.
Sell, but at what financial and especially sporting price?
The latter did not wish to take John Textor's speech at its word. Because it was above all a question of projection rather than real information. With the payroll control and the ban on recruiting this winter, OL are in deep trouble. However, the financial dynamic is the opposite of the sporting one and that is the whole problem. The Rhone club will have an irremediable need for the Champions League for its survival. However, this winter, he could have to sell Rayan Cherki and/or Malick Fofana, the two highest market values in his squad.
Like managing to hold on to the C1 by getting rid of two of its best players? It's a difficult equation that John Textor wishes he didn't have to answer. For this, new money is needed and a new sleight of hand should soon emerge from Botafogo. But this strategy is not viable and OL cannot afford to go to see the DNCG with a lump in their stomach. It's not OL and it never will be. It’s up to John Textor to finally realize this, instead of brandishing the sacrosanct “family spirit between Eagle Football Group clubs”. Today, the only one that is threatened with relegation is the French club. Not Crystal Palace, not Molenbeek, not even Botafogo who served himself well.
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