Olympique Lyonnais “will not be relegated to Ligue 2,” OL president John Textor promised on Saturday, after the threat of a demotion at the end of the season brandished Friday by the financial policeman of French football due to of the poor economic health of the Rhone club.
“We will not be relegated. It was not true at the time (last season sportingly, editor’s note), it is still true today,” declared the American businessman during a press conference, while measures Reinforced security had been taken in front of the training center for fear of a demonstration by supporters.
Friday, the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG) of the Professional Football League decided on the “precautionary demotion at the end of the current sporting season” of OL, currently 5th in Ligue 1 and very indebted. The DNCG also imposed a recruitment ban on Olympique Lyonnais during the winter transfer window and a control of its payroll, two sanctions for which the club does not yet know whether it will appeal.
75 million hoped for in the winter transfer window
“We will take care of our promises and we will try to reassure the supporters. We are very optimistic about our model but some people are skeptical,” he regretted.
John Textor also affirmed that the DNCG’s decision would not have an impact on the negotiations concerning the transfers of players which bring in around 90 million euros each season to Olympique Lyonnais, which hopes to recover 75 million euros during the winter transfer window.
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Will the young Belgian, Malick Fofana, be sold? “People will try to exploit this news. If clubs don’t want to buy our players at the right price, we simply won’t sell to them. Some conversations around players have started at lower numbers, but we will sell the players at the right price,” explains John Textor about the possible sales of Lyon.
According to L’Equipe, Lyon wants to keep the young striker. It is estimated at 15 million by Transfermarkt. His departure would only be made against a substantial check and would be, like that of Cherki. Georges Mikautadze and Gift Orban are also cited to replenish the coffers.
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In July 2023, the DNCG had already taken measures to control the payroll and transfer allowances before lifting them.
