Olympique Lyonnais Relegated to Ligue 2 Due to Financial Problems
Olympique Lyonnais, seven-time French champion and owned by American businessman John Textor, has been relegated to the second division of French football. The decision was announced on Tuesday by the Professional Football League (LFP) due to the club’s financial problems.
The club plans to appeal the decision.
Textor and Mickael Gerlinger, the club’s director of football, were interviewed by the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG), the French financial regulatory body responsible for overseeing the accounts and financial health of all professional clubs.
In November, the DNCG provisionally relegated Lyon due to a debt of 175 million euros and the lack of a clear plan by the club to reduce it. Textor’s proposal to transfer funds from Botafogo, another club he owns in Brazil, to Lyon to cover the debts was denied.
Despite the Lyon executives’ confidence in being able to answer all questions satisfactorily and provide reasons to avoid relegation to Ligue 2, their explanations were not sufficient for the DNCG, which decided to maintain its original decision and confirm Lyon’s relegation.
Earlier this month, the club raised 42.5 million euros with the transfer of Rayan Cherki.
