French professional football powerhouse Lyon, in danger of relegation to the second division due to 'mountain of debt'
French professional football powerhouse Lyon, in danger of relegation to the second division due to 'mountain of debt'
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Olympique Lyonnais, a prestigious French professional soccer club, is facing the risk of relegation to the second division due to its ballooning debt.
AFP reported on the 16th (Korean time) that the French football financial supervisory body DNCG has issued a provisional order to Lyon to ban the club from recruiting players and to relegate it to the second division regardless of its performance if it does not improve its financial soundness.
Although their recent performances have been lackluster, Lyon is a prestigious club that achieved the feat of winning seven consecutive league titles (2001-2002 season to 2007-2008 season) for the first time in the top five European leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France). They have also consistently appeared on the stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Lyon's owner is American John Texter. Texter's company, Eagle Football Holdings, is also the largest shareholder of not only Lyon but also Crystal Palace (England) and Botafogo (Brazil).
According to reports, Eagle Football Holdings' net debt stands at 463.8 million euros (approximately 681 billion won) despite a decrease in net loss.
The sanctions also included oversight of salaries.
Still, Dexter told reporters, "I'm not worried at all."
"We're going to make hundreds of millions of dollars in the next few months," he added.
Eagle Football Holdings is said to be banking on cash inflows, particularly 스포츠토토사이트 from Botafogo and Belgian club Molenbeek, to help pay off its debts.
Texter claimed the regulator "only looked at the French club and did not consider the hundreds of millions of dollars that could come from other parts of our organization."
He also tried to reassure Lyon supporters by saying, "There will be no selling off of top players for cheap, because our goal this year is to qualify for the Champions League."
Lyon is currently in 5th place out of 18 teams in the French Ligue 1 with 5 wins, 3 draws, and 3 losses (18 points) through 11 rounds this season. They are 1 point behind 4th place LOSC Lille (5 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses, 19 points), the last line for qualification to next season's UEFA Champions League.