With three defeats and a draw in the first four Ligue 1 matches, Olympique Lyonnais has just sacked its coach and is in last place in the standings before hosting Le Havre on Sunday (8:45 p.m.).
“Today we are the OL of 2023-2024, not 2002-2003 or 2015-2016 […] We are happy to take a point in Nice by being OL 2023-2024.”. This statement from Corentin Tolisso, a player trained at the club, at the microphone of Prime Video after the draw of the Lyonnais against the Aiglons (0-0) on August 27, symbolizes in itself the downgrading of a club seven times champion of France at the beginning of the century (2002-2008), and which is now struggling to qualify for a European Cup.
“When we look at the ranking and the quality of the matches provided. Clearly, Lyon is no longer scary at all”regrets Sidney Govou, actor and privileged witness of the golden era of Les Gones between 2002 and 2007. Over the last 15 years, the Rhone club has only won a Coupe de France and a Champions Trophy in 2012. Above all, his participations in European competition are becoming increasingly rare (only one in the last four years, in the 2021-2022 Europa League).
The absence of the Champions League at the heart of the problem
In addition to having left the regular table of the Champions League, OL are missing out on the enormous financial windfall from the most prestigious club competition in Europe (at least 35 million euros, in counting as the participation bonus, the redistribution of TV rights and commercial revenues). A critical shortfall for OL, which must repay the 455 million euros that the construction of its stadium, which it has owned since 2016, cost.
“The Champions League, beyond the bonuses paid by UEFA, also brings in enormous amounts in terms of ticketing and hospitality, notes Jean-Pascal Gayant, sports economist. And OL was counting on this entire fringe of very significant revenue in its stadium financing plan.. In November 2015, a few days before the inauguration of Parc OL, which he owns, Jean-Michel Aulas hoped to amortize the costs “by advancing the club in the European hierarchy”while evoking the “need to be regularly among the best European clubs”in an interview given to the monthly Lyon People.
While the project to build a large stadium was born in 2007, “the financial bet was riskycontinues Jean-Pascal Gayant. It was based on the idea that OL would be in the Champions League the majority of the time and this plan was largely compromised. The arrival of the Qataris in Paris made PSG a systematic resident of the Champions League. A club like Lyon has lost its probability of qualifying..
Consequences on the transfer market
With more than 450 million euros of investment to be amortized over thirty years, OL must make savings elsewhere, particularly on the transfer market. While it used to spend more than it sold at the start of the 2010 decade, this trend has been reversed. “Everything has been done so that the club has the size and lifestyle of a Champions League club. But when you don’t play it, there are holes, you are forced to sell your best elements, you are less attractive, it’s a vicious circle”, observes Sidney Govou. The Brazilians Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta were each sold for 42 million euros (according to the specialized site Transfermarkt) to English clubs, Newcastle and West Ham, after two brilliant seasons in the Rhône.
“In a broader context, the resources of French clubs have progressed less than in the other major leagues. This is not likely to help normal French clubs, excluding PSG, which are downgraded“, also underlines Jean-Pascal Gayant. While the sums offered increase each season, OL could not resist this year the significant offers for its young prospects trained at the club, like Bradley Barcola, who left for Paris for 45 million euros, and Castello Lukeba, who left for Leipzig for 30 million euros, the same sum paid by Chelsea to secure the services of Malo Gusto the previous winter.
To replace these talents, we still need to make the right choices. During the 2019-2020 season, the one where OL were the biggest spenders on the transfer market for several years with 126 million euros invested (again according to the specialized site Transfermarkt), many recruits did not given completely satisfaction, like Jeff Reine-Adélaïde (25 million euros), Joachim Andersen (24 million euros), Thiago Mendes (22 million euros) or even Tino Kadewere (12 million euros ).
“There is the president, the coach and, between the two, we don’t know”
And on the bench, the various coaches have not satisfied the management either, since the departure of Bruno Génésio at the end of the 2018-2019 season, five technicians have already succeeded one another in as many seasons (Sylvinho, Rudi Garcia, Peter Bosz, Laurent Blanc and therefore Fabio Grosso). Bruno Génésio, for his part, had not resisted the elimination in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France against Rennes, causing “the immense disappointment” by Jean-Michel Aulas. The president of OL announced that evening at a press conference that his coach, who was due to extend his contract, would not do so immediately. A decision which would have been taken unilaterally by Jean-Michel Aulas.
“Jean-Michel Aulas was hugely present behind the coaches in my time, and I don’t think that changed afterwardssays Sidney Govou. There is the president, the coach, and between the two, we don’t know. There are people who are there, but who are not there at the same time, we don’t really know. Bernard Lacombe (sports director then advisor to the president from 1988 to 2017) and Florian Maurice (director of recruitment from 2014 to 2020) played this role and filled this void, but for me, since the departure of Génésio and Maurice, there is not much that is right anymore. There is an artistic void”.
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A void that continues to widen since the takeover of OL in 2022 by American billionaire John Textor. “Who puts oil in the wheels on a daily basis? Santiago Cucci (the executive president) gives the impression of being Textor’s French guarantor, but ball-wise, I’m not sure he has much to say”asks Arnaud Clément, journalist in the sports department of Progress.
A recruitment director, Matthieu Louis-Jean, was appointed last June, according to a press release from OL, which also specifies that John Textor “will be personally involved in the recruitment policy of Olympique Lyonnais”. An assertion verified with the arrivals of Jeffinho in January, then of Jake O’Brien this summer, respectively from Botafogo and Crystal Palace, two clubs in the Eagle constellation, owned by John Textor.
Pressure from investment funds
In conflict with Jean-Michel Aulas, whom he accuses of having hidden from him “the economic deterioration” of OL, John Textor slammed his fist on Monday by ending the coaching mandate of Laurent Blanc, after a start to the season completely missed (1 point in four games and an embarrassing last place). “This dismissal, for me, is not a good solution. I think it just sends the message that the new management did not want Laurent Blanc, because he was introduced by Jean-Michel Aulas. Today Today, John Textor wants to play sports director through video conferences, but we are not in the business world”comments Sidney Govou.
“OK, Textor is the new boss, but we must not believe that he is the one who has all the keys. The investment fund Ares granted Eagle Football (the holding company of John Textor) 400 of the 800 million necessary for takeover of OL. It is this fund which has the power”, tempers Arnaud Clément. “The pressure will increase because when things go badly, the investment funds withdraw their money”, warns Jean-Pascal Gayant. In an attempt to reverse the dynamic and establish a virtuous circle, OL leaders decided to entrust the recovery mission to Fabio Grosso, former player of the club between 2007 and 2009, as coach.