According to a report from RMC Sport, Lyon president and majority shareholder John Textor needs to raise €130m in order for the club to not receive a sanction by the DNCG, the French football financial watchdog. When Textor completed his takeover of Lyon, he showed the DNCG a business plan which was based on yearly qualification to the Champions League. However, Les Gones are only sixth in the league and won’t qualify for Europe’s showpiece club competition next season. The club will therefore lack a financial windfall of several tens of millions of euros that goes with a Champions League qualification.
Player sales during the next transfer window will help the club get closer from their objective to raise €130m, but it is not expected to be enough – even if promising prospects like Rayan Cherki (19), Castello Lukeba (20) or Bradley Barcola (20) were to earn big money moves. The sale of a majority share of the highly successful Lyon’s Womens team is expected. L’Equipe reported last month that an agreement had been reached between Textor and Michelle Kang, via the former’s investment vehicle Eagle Football – the majority shareholder of the overall parent company OL Groupe as of December of last year.
According to RMC Sport, Eagle Football are considering an IPO (Initial Public Offering) in the United States to raise more funds. Should Textor fail to bring the necessary guarantees on behalf of Lyon’s financial stability, the DNCG will be in their rights to hit the club with an array of sanctions such a control of the club’s wages, a transfer ban or a Ligue 2 relegation, in a worst case scenario.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
