OFFICIAL: Lyon provisionally relegated to Ligue 2

Olympique Lyon suffer a massive blow as the DNCG - the National Board of Control and Management of French football - have announced on Friday that the club will be provisionally relegated to Ligue 2, and will also be banned from completing any signings in the upcoming transfer window.

The decision arrived as a result of Lyon's financial troubles. ‘Les Gones’ are 500 million euros in debt, an excessive amount of money that has pushed their financial stability to the limit.

Lyon's board met up with DNCG members - responsible for monitoring the accounts of professional football clubs in France - on Friday in a key summit to discuss the club's ongoing situation. John Textor, owner of Lyon, reassured that the meeting had gone well. "We have no problem with financial sustainability," he told the media.

However, soon after, the DNCG's verdict proved just the opposite. Reduction of the wage bill, a transfer-ban in the next window and relegation at the end of the season if debts are not reduced, was the decision from the organisation.

The situation is dire for Lyon, one of the country's most historic and decorated clubs with seven league titles - all won in consecutive seasons. The Ligue 1 giants now have the task to find 100 million euros in order to save themselves from facing relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the current campaign.

 

November 10, 2024