“The meeting went well. I trust our numbers. » At the end of his hearing before the national management control department (DNCG) on Friday, November 15, Olympique Lyonnais (OL) owner John Textor assumed the trust that the body would place in him in return. The next day, he was notified of a series of sanctions: payroll control, prohibition of hiring during the winter transfer market and, above all, relegation to Ligue 2 as a precautionary measure at the end of the season if the financial situation does not change. . It doesn’t improve. It doesn’t improve.
This situation represents a debt of 500 million euros, an estimated deficit of 100 million and immediate financing needs of 100 to 200 million. How did OL, long a model of good management, put itself in such a position? On November 7, Eagle Football Group (formerly OL Groupe) had already admitted that auditors were considering issuing a non-certification on its accounts. They believed, like the DNCG, that they lacked tangible elements that would guarantee a rapid recovery.
Last year, around the same time, the Gones were in danger of being relegated from a sporting point of view, before a record signing (almost 60 million euros) in the January transfer market allowed them to finish in 6my place. This season the situation is the opposite: 5my In Ligue 1, the club will have to sell players in January, even if it means weakening on the field.
However, their model is only viable if they appear at the top of the Ligue 1 table, with qualification for the Champions League at stake. In the last five seasons he has only made two appearances in the Europa League. And the sale of its best young elements, in the last years of the Jean-Michel Aulas era, contributed to the team’s sporting stagnation.
Assets already liquidated
On the other hand, the former president had developed decisive assets for the high valuation of the OL Groupe (800 million euros) at the time of its sale at the end of 2022, starting with its Décines-Charpieu stadium. But John Textor has already liquidated several: the OL Reign women’s club (Seattle), OL women itself and, finally, the LDLC Arena… sold to Jean-Michel Aulas’ family holding company. This was not enough to remedy the situation and the group was deprived of sustainable resources.
According to the American businessman, the DNCG ignores the international dimension of the parent company Eagle Football Holdings. Because OL has fallen under the timeshare regime of football clubs, which is detrimental in many aspects. The holding company thus owns the Brazilian club Botafogo, from which it hopes to obtain lucrative player sales, and has launched the sale of its 45% stake in Crystal Palace (England), while coveting the acquisition of Everton. Finally, it plans to raise funds with its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in early 2025.
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