Foot OL – Textor fired from OL, why this scenario is not so crazy – Olympique Lyonnais

The first months of the new OL version John Textor are very complicated. If this does not work out, particularly on the economic level, it could cause great damage at all levels.

New ownerOlympique Lyonnais, John Textor is widely talked about. His activity during the transfer market was important for a club owner who is also its CEO. It is also he who is almost alone, or accompanied by agent Jorge Mendes, leading the search for the club’s new coach after the disappointing start to the season. These first steps raise a few eyebrows, and Jean-Michel Aulas is not the only one to ask questions about the way the American manages his business. Because the price paid to buy Olympique Lyonnais is colossal, and Textor did it without putting much out of his pocket. Investors followed him, which made the American a largely minority partner in the operation. It is enough to see how complicated this transaction was to complete, with threats of stopping negotiations and ultimatums, to realize the difficulty of the takeover. A takeover of a loss-making club, even if it has great guarantees such as its workforce, its structures, its stadium and its future Arena.

OL better protected than Bordeaux before its fiasco

For David Gluzman, a banker who closely followed the Bordeaux takeover fiasco, the situation could well change at the head of OL if John Textor does not fix things. “ What can save OL is the quality of its shareholders and the fact that the club has several layers of protection compared to the Girondins, namely a player and real estate asset with the stadium, the training center and now the Arena. If the financial situation gets too out of hand, Ares will find that Textor will never be able to repay them and will become the owner of the club. Ares could then be reimbursed from the sale of players but also real estate. It could rather be compared to Elliott’s situation at AC Milan and Losc, Gérard Lopez era. I really have the impression that Textor bought a villa for 10 million euros without being able to pay the property tax », Compared David Gluzman in the columns of 20 Minutes. A telling image which demonstrates that John Textor will still be held accountable for the sums invested to buy back Olympique Lyonnais, even if for the moment, it is the athlete who takes precedence with the desire to find a coach and put OL back in the first part of the table at least.