Although Textor had appeared confident that meetings with France’s football regulator (DNCG) had gone well, the five-time Coupes de France winners now face an uphill battle to retain their top-flight status.
OL once dominated domestically and thrilled internationally. Despite PSG’s utter monopoly on French football since 2011’s Qatari takeover, Lyon’s seven consecutive title victories remains a French top-flight record. Between 2003 and 2012, The Rhône club never failed to qualify for the UCL round of 16, reaching the Quarter-Finals on three occasions.
All signs pointed to OL being a well-oiled and well-run machine, both on and off the pitch
Lyon, despite once earning the 13th-highest annual revenue in world football, have never been able to dominate financially. Talented youth products such as Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa were snapped up by the superclubs of Europe, while their UCL competitors could often outspend them. However, it was always Les Gones’ ability to replace their losses cheaply that gave them an edge. World-class midfielder Michael Essien was brought in for under €8m, and won back-to-back Ligue 1 titles before being sold to Chelsea for 3 times the price. All signs pointed to OL being a well-oiled and well-run machine, both on and off the pitch.
Pursuit of European glory came at the cost of domestic form, however. While Lyon reached the R016 in 08/09, and Semi-Finals in 09/10, this cost them their league-winning streak as Bordeaux lifted the title in 2009.
Pursuit of European glory came at the cost of domestic form
An exodus of talent in recent years has since cost OL their Champions League status. The club made history in 2019/20 by sending Manchester City home in the UCL Quarter-Finals, but have failed to qualify for Europe’s top league ever since. The losses of immense talent in Houssem Aouar and Moussa Dembele on free transfers, combined with a failure to adequately reinvest money from the sales of Brazilian duo Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimarães have seen the club sink to 8th, 7th and 6th over the last three seasons.
With a club financial model based on consistent Champions League football, debt soon began to mount. Ownership scuffles have hardly helped matters, with frequent clashes between Textor and former chairman Jean-Michael Aulas, who argues he was forced out in 2022. Textor has since sold off 52% of OL’s Women’s side – widely considered to be one of the best in the world – to American investor Michele Kang in order to raise funds.
Textor’s cost-cutting measures have not deterred the DNCG, however, as the Government watchdog’s most recent sanctions look dead set to crush any hope Lyon may have had of returning to their former heights. What was once the best-run club in France is now in crisis, and serves as yet another example of a fallen giant. Lyon have risen from the second-tier before, but with the eye of international scrutiny now firmly on the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, only time will tell if Les Gones can overcome, adapt and improve.