Lyon have been provisionally relegated from Ligue 1 following financial issues within the club and the French giants have also been handed a transfer ban.
Lyon Provisionally Relegated and Handed Transfer Ban
After huge financial issues, the seven-time Ligue 1 champions are set to be relegated from France’s top division – unless they can find a way to improve their problems.
Financial hits have become an ever-increasing issue in France over recent seasons, with Bordeaux being dropped to the fourth division after filing for bankruptcy.
Lyon’s issues were made public after they announced huge debts, with the final number exceeding £400 million and are now banned from signing players.
The majority owner of Lyon, John Textor, is also the co-owner of Crystal Palace through Eagle Football Holdings and he was involved in a meeting with France’s National Directorate of Control and Management.
Reports suggest that Textor is willing to sell his percentage in Crystal Palace to help with Lyon’s current financial situation.
However, his meeting did not solve the issues at hand and Romain Molina, a well-regarded French journalist, has stated that the entirety of Lyon’s squad is up for sale.
Their squad is full of former Premier League stars, including Wilfried Zaha, Alexandre Lacazette, Nemanja Matic, Said Benrahma, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Jordan Veretout.
Lyon have struggled financially after failing to qualify for the Champions League since 2019/20 – however their Women’s side are one of the best in world football.
The women’s side have managed to win 17 league titles and three Champions League trophies, while the men have picked up seven league titles and have been in Ligue 1 since 1989.
Textor also has stakes in Botafogo and reportedly believes that selling a host of their star players and ending his 45% ownership of Palace will help the French side.
Why Are Ligue 1 Clubs Struggling Financially?
As previously mentioned, Lyon are not the only side that have struggled with finances in France – with a host of issues rising since the COVID-19 pandemic.
TV licensing has been an issue in Ligue 1, as revenue continues to drop following the dominance of PSG and departures of star players like Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr.
France’s equivalent of the EFL, known as the LFO, were planning on selling their TV rights for £835m for a five year period (2024-2029).
However, all broadcasting companies refused to meet these demands and DAZN sealed a deal with £344m and BeIN Sports added a further £84m – less than half of what the LFP wanted.
If Lyon do not improve their financial situation and ‘balance the books’ then they will be relegated to Ligue 2 for the 2025/26 season.
