Latest news with #Aulas
RTHK
12 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
Lyon relegated to Ligue 2 over club's finances
Lyon relegated to Ligue 2 over club's finances Lyon were unable to convince the French football regulator to lift a provisional relegation announced last November. File photo: Reuters Seven-time Ligue 1 champions Lyon said they would appeal their relegation to the second-tier by French football's financial watchdog. At a hearing earlier in the day, Lyon were unable to convince the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG) to lift the restrictions it had put on the club in November. "Over the past few months, we have worked closely with DNCG, meeting all of its demands with equity investments exceeding the amounts requested," the club said in a statement." After the meeting, Lyon's president John Textor said he remained confident of avoiding the drop to Ligue 2 for next season, where the club has not played since 1989. "Our liquidity situation has improved considerably," he said. American Textor took over as Lyon's majority owner in December 2022 from long-standing boss Jean-Michel Aulas, who had overseen unprecedented success at the French outfit. Textor, 59, also holds stakes in Brazilian side Botafoga and Belgian club Molenbeek. Earlier this week he sold his 43 percent stake in Premier League outfit Crystal Palace. According to the BBC, they were sold for 190 million pounds to Woody Johnson, the owner of the NFL's New York Jets. Lyon have reduced their salary bill with attacker Alexandre Lacazette and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes released. They have sold Rayan Cherki to Manchester City and Maxence Caqueret to Como. Textor said his Eagle group has also put 83 million euros into the club. "Thanks to the equity contributions from our shareholders and the sale of Crystal Palace, our cash position has improved considerably, and we have more than sufficient resources for the 2025-2026 season," said the club statement. Lyon qualified for next season's Europa League after finishing sixth in the French top-flight. If their relegation is confirmed, they would be replaced in Ligue 1 by Reims. Lyon won seven consecutive French titles between 2002 and 2008, under Aulas. "It's a terrible blow to all those who love Lyon" Aulas said on X on Tuesday. "For 36 years I made sure that such a situation could not happen. "I gave everything to build a solid, respected, ambitious club that was financially healthy. Today, it's sadness that dominates. And an immense failure to understand," the 76-year-old added. Only five clubs have won Ligue 1 more often. Paris Saint-Germain hold the record with 13 titles. Lyon are set to begin their pre-season on July 7. (AFP)
France 24
12 hours ago
- Business
- France 24
Lyon appeal relegation to Ligue 2 by financial regulator
At a hearing earlier in the day, Lyon were unable to convince the regulator (DNCG) to lift the restrictions it had put on the club in November. "Over the past few months, we have worked closely with the DNCG, meeting all of its demands with equity investments exceeding the amounts requested," the club said in a statement." After the meeting, Lyon's president John Textor said he remained confident of avoiding the drop to Ligue 2 for next season, where the club has not played since 1989. "Our liquidity situation has improved considerably," he said. American Textor took over as Lyon's majority owner in December 2022 from long-standing boss Jean-Michel Aulas, who had overseen unprecedented success at the French outfit. Textor, 59, also holds stakes in Brazilian side Botafoga, Belgian club Molenbeek. Earlier this week he sold his 43 percent stake in Premier League outfit Crystal Palace. According to the BBC, they were sold for 190 million pounds to Woody Johnson, the owner of the NFL's New York Jets. Lyon have reduced their salary bill with attacker Alexandre Lacazette and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes released. They have sold Rayan Cherki to Manchester City and Maxence Caqueret to Como. Textor said his Eagle group has also put 83 million euros into the club. "Thanks to the equity contributions from our shareholders and the sale of Crystal Palace, our cash position has improved considerably, and we have more than sufficient resources for the 2025-2026 season," said the club statement. 'Sadness' Lyon qualified for next season's Europa League after finishing sixth in the French top-flight. If their relegation is confirmed, they would be replaced in Ligue 1 by Reims. Lyon won seven consecutive French titles between 2002 and 2008, under Aulas. "It's a terrible blow to all those who love Lyon" Aulas said on X on Tuesday. "For 36 years I made sure that such a situation could not happen. "I gave everything to build a solid, respected, ambitious club that was financially healthy. "Today, it's sadness that dominates. And an immense failure to understand," the 76-year-old added. Only five clubs have won Ligue 1 more often. Paris Saint-Germain hold the record with 13 titles. Lyon are set to begin their pre-season on July 7. © 2025 AFP
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Lyon appeal relegation to Ligue 2 by financial regulator
Seven-time Ligue 1 champions Lyon said on Tuesday they would appeal their relegation to the second-tier by French football's financial watchdog. HT Image At a hearing earlier in the day, Lyon were unable to convince the regulator to lift the restrictions it had put on the club in November. "Over the past few months, we have worked closely with the DNCG, meeting all of its demands with equity investments exceeding the amounts requested," the club said in a statement." After the meeting, Lyon's president John Textor said he remained confident of avoiding the drop to Ligue 2 for next season, where the club has not played since 1989. "Our liquidity situation has improved considerably," he said. American Textor took over as Lyon's majority owner in December 2022 from long-standing boss Jean-Michel Aulas, who had overseen unprecedented success at the French outfit. Textor, 59, also holds stakes in Brazilian side Botafoga, Belgian club Molenbeek. Earlier this week he sold his 43 percent stake in Premier League outfit Crystal Palace. According to the BBC, they were sold for 190 million pounds to Woody Johnson, the owner of the NFL's New York Jets. Lyon have reduced their salary bill with attacker Alexandre Lacazette and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes released. They have sold Rayan Cherki to Manchester City and Maxence Caqueret to Como. Textor said his Eagle group has also put 83 million euros into the club. "Thanks to the equity contributions from our shareholders and the sale of Crystal Palace, our cash position has improved considerably, and we have more than sufficient resources for the 2025-2026 season," said the club statement. Lyon qualified for next season's Europa League after finishing sixth in the French top-flight. If their relegation is confirmed, they would be replaced in Ligue 1 by Reims. Lyon won seven consecutive French titles between 2002 and 2008, under Aulas. "It's a terrible blow to all those who love Lyon" Aulas said on X on Tuesday. "For 36 years I made sure that such a situation could not happen. "I gave everything to build a solid, respected, ambitious club that was financially healthy. "Today, it's sadness that dominates. And an immense failure to understand," the 76-year-old added. Only five clubs have won Ligue 1 more often. Paris Saint-Germain hold the record with 13 titles. Lyon are set to begin their pre-season on July 7. eba/hpa/iwd/pb This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
How football tycoon gave Lyon a new lease of life
Success is synonymous with Olympique Lyonnais being established in 2004, the French club have become one of the superpowers in women's football, lifting 38 trophies across the domestic and European record in the Women's Champions League is unparalleled, winning the competition eight times in an 11-year period between 2011 and Lyon remain a formidable force in the women's game, with a record-extending 12th European final appearance on the horizon if they overcome Arsenal over the next fortnight, other teams are catching up in terms of both investment and on-field success. In recent years they have been usurped on the European stage by fellow semi-finalists Barcelona, who are just three matches from a third Champions League title in a nearly two decades as the passion project of former Lyon owner Jean-Michel Aulas, the club have turned to trailblazing American businesswoman Michele Kang to give them a new lease of life. BBC World Service's World Football podcast has taken a closer look at the club's unique journey. From 'ahead of his time' Aulas to billionaire Kang For more than 30 years, local businessman Aulas was becoming owner and president in 1987, following pleas from the city's mayor and F1 legend Alain Prost, he oversaw the men's club's transformation from a debt-ridden club languishing in the second tier to serial trophy-winners throughout the to replicate that success in women's football, he launched OL Feminin in 2004 and, under his ownership, the club attracted top overseas players, championed French talent like Wendie Renard, and opened France's first mixed-gender took three years to deliver silverware, winning the Premiere Ligue in 2006-07. The rest is history."This guy was ahead of his time," former Lyon defender Lucy Bronze told the BBC's World Service. "To have someone that powerful say I want the women's team to do well, I want them to be the best, I want to give them everything."He was the first one [to invest in women's football], not just with his money but with physically being there and how much he cared about the team. He enjoyed it just as much as the girls. He celebrated just as hard as we did." Aulas' ownership ended in 2022 when Eagle Football became the majority shareholders of the OL Groupe, which encompassed both the men's and women's teams - as well as a majority stake in NWSL side Seattle Reign, and he resigned from his 36-year presidency the following 2023, the women's team changed hands again, with South Korea-born American businesswoman Kang, who made her fortune in healthcare IT, taking on majority ownership and making it a separate entity - "independent" - from the men's team."We have reached the end of our model a bit," chief executive Vincent Ponsot said. "I think we needed a new lease of life, a new project. That is exactly what Michele brought with a much more global vision."We now see clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona. There is competition and our ambition is to remain one of the best European clubs. If Michele had not arrived, I think it would have been almost impossible because we need France to move much faster than it does today." Who is Michele Kang? Described by the Financial Times as "arguably the first tycoon in women's football", Kang is a relative latecomer to first became interested in the sport after meeting the World Cup-winning US women's team in 2019 and has since built up a portfolio of teams under her Kynisca Sports International group. In addition to Lyon, she has been the majority owner of NWSL team Washington Spirit since 2022 and purchased Women's Championship side London City Lionesses in 2023."I realised these are the best of the best athletes around the world," Kang said, reflecting on her meeting with the USWNT."I saw a significant lack of resources and attention. I saw the possibility of how women's football could explode with a little nudge and a little investment. "I am not alone and there are a lot of people who share the same passion. Two billion people watch the World Cup - it's growing."Kang's interest isn't limited to multi-club ownership, however, with a number of multi-million pound investments in women's sport, including a £39m global investment in improving the health of elite female plans for Lyon are no less grand. Her long-term ambitions include the construction of a dedicated women's centre, with a 15-18,000-seater stadium and a bigger training facility, while she has already invested heavily in improving the club's backroom staff."The first thing she said to me was 'Vincent, what do you have to do for the OL women's team to have the same supervisions as the professional men's team?'. That was in August 2023," Ponsot said."I told her, 'we have to hire 11 people to the staff', and she said, 'go on then'. Two months later, we had 11 more people and 24 staff to improve the support to players so they can perform."The main thing we have evolved is in the performance sector. We have full-time nutritionists, physiotherapists, doctors, a performance manager, a psychologist. We have everything we need for the players to be in the best conditions to perform like the men's team."Lyon midfielder and USA captain Lindsey Heaps added: "[Michele] is incredible. I have never seen anything like this in the women's game, the sort of investment but also the way she speaks."When she took over she was a bit shocked that it was such a prestigious club and still [have] things that we need. Sometimes you can look at it and think 'they have Champions League trophies, they are winning every single game' [but] it's still not to the standard we need." 'A vicious circle' - the challenges in France Another of Kang's priorities is increasing attendances at Lyon fixtures. "If you ask many female players what is at the top of your wishlist, they don't say I want to get paid more, I want bigger cars. They say, 'I want to play against the best players and best teams in a sellout stadium'. It's my job that we fill the stadium," she will travel to Emirates Stadium on Saturday (12:30 BST) for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Arsenal - a stadium where the Gunners recorded an average attendance of 52,029 across six matches last season."When you see that Arsenal are filling Emirates Stadium, there is no reason why we can't," said Ponsot. "We realised that women's football has an audience with a strong increase in appetite, but we are having trouble making it a reality."Lyon are on course for a record-extending 18th league title this season, having already booked their place in May's end-of-season play-offs. Indeed, they have only lost two league matches over the past four sustained success, coupled with Aulas' unmatched support, is seen by some as having had a negative impact on crowds, media interest, and investment in football journalist Assile Toufaily said: "Some will say 'why should we come and watch football that isn't attractive because the level isn't that good?' We know OL are going to smash the other clubs 7-0. Fans aren't intrigued to come and watch."They say if you want to have a better level of football, investors have to invest. Investors will then say why should we invest if the media isn't promoting the game? So you find yourself in a vicious circle and it's been like this for years."But she does not see Aulas' investment as the problem. "If he didn't invest in 2004, maybe no-one would ever have done it in France. Aulas isn't to blame, but maybe the problem is others didn't follow along."Kang, unsurprisingly, is undaunted by this, working with Ponsot to "find the profile" of women's football fans, with their own research indicating only a 5% overlap between fans who watch men's and women's will likely find a powerful ally in Aulas, who was elected vice-president of the French Football Federation in December 2023 and has taken over responsibility for development of women's football. "The French league is going to be very strong in years to come," vowed Aulas."If I acted badly before by being too strong [when I was] with Lyon, you can expect me to act badly [in my role] with France."
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Women's football in France changing but Lyon-PSG duopoly hard to break
A big change occurred in France last summer when the top two divisions of the women's game were professionalised under the banner of the new Ligue Féminine de Football Professionnel (LFFP), led by the former Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas. With the aim of making a league dominated for almost two decades by Aulas's former club and Paris Saint-Germain more interesting, the changes included a rebranding of the top two divisions, an overall budget increase for the league stretching into eight figures, plus mandatory criteria such as every top division side having a minimum 11 full-time players, with second division sides having at least 11 contracted part-time players. Clubs can now have a fourth non-EU player, while those involved in the new structure have taken lessons from other leagues such as rest days for teams in the Champions League and canvassing supporters for the best kick-off times. The aim has been to improve standards and create a more competitive league, but with two games to go it is once again Lyon and PSG running away with things. Plus ça change, as they say. But beneath the surface, the changes are being welcomed, even by those who, in the long run, may be left behind as bigger names fight for promotion to the top division. Among them are fourth-placed Dijon, almost certain to clinch their first spot in the end of season playoffs, andFleury 91, sat just behind in fifth, who last season knocked Lyon out of the domestic cup on the way to a historic final. With their men's teams sat in the third and fourth tiers respectively, both are massively punching above their weight – sitting above sides such as Montpellier, Nantes and Saint-Étienne – but have welcomed the increased professionalisation. 'There has already been really good communication with the LFFP, because we had no communication with the FFF [French Football Federation],' says Sylvain Carric, who runs the women's football side of Dijon. 'We have support on marketing structures, as well as contracts negotiated with Catapult and MyCoach, for example, for performance and medical matters to offer more support to the players.' Carric believes the biggest challenge is to make the game financially independent, but with Dijon already fully professional the change has been more difficult for Fleury 91, especially after they lost their head coach, Fabrice Abriel, to PSG last summer along with some key players. 'A higher level of standard is required from the club now in terms of infrastructure,' says Fleury's president, Pascal Bovis. 'The quality of pitches and floodlights, the structure, medical care, staff, the qualifications of coaches and our communications and media departments. But the change is under way and very important in the long term because the professional league will generate revenue that will transfer directly to the club.' While Lyon and PSG continue to dominate, Bovis points to recent results as proof other sides can continue to compete and believes 'it's good to have a driving force pulling us up', with regards to France's top two sides. 'The budgets of Lyon and PSG are very large, but also Paris FC now, with Louis Vuitton as the new owner, can compete at least. 'Fleury, for example, has only lost 2-1 in Paris [to PSG] for the past three seasons and has drawn three times at home, including a legendary 4-4 draw three years ago. It is proof of a smaller sporting gap despite large budget differences.' While six points separate them, Dijon's professional structure has allowed them to jump from eighth to fourth this season, even though Fleury are playing catch-up when it comes to the new criteria imposed on clubs. 'We have 19 professional players, six technical staff and three medical staff,' says Carric, but it is different for Bovis and Fleury. 'We don't benefit from the professional infrastructure the other women's teams have, being backed by a professional men's club,' says Bovis. 'This is our weakness, but we're working to overcome all of this. On the other hand, our structure is as important as other teams, or perhaps even better, our staff includes a former coach of the France Under-23 team, as does the medical team.' Does that create a greater fear of bigger clubs on the rise, with Nantes promoted last season and already established in seventh in the top division, with others such as Marseille and Lens possibly on the way? 'No, on the contrary,' says Bovis. 'This will make the championship even more attractive. It's up to us to stay smart in our recruitment, to maintain the club's unique spirit and to continue to perform despite our unique status. But isn't that also the charm of football? And that's why we love it … ' If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is back in to its twice-weekly format, delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.
