A time very close to Jean-Michel Aulas and seen as his successor at the head of OL, Tony Parker finally stepped back with the arrival of John Textor. However, the former basketball player is complimentary to the American and opens the door to a return to OL.
Tony Parker executive president of OL in the near future, the idea resurfaces at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Two years earlier, this plan was clearly in tune with the times as ASVEL led by the former basketball player was clearly approaching Jean-Michel Aulas’ OL. The two men seemed accomplices and many saw a process of filiation being born. But the arrival of John Textor in the Rhône in 2022 has upset this scenario. The American businessman bought the club in December 2022 and, in the process, Tony Parker retired from OL.
Parker towards a more important role at OL?
Was Tony Parker in disagreement with this choice to entrust the keys of the club to John Textor? Six months later, the former San Antonio Spurs player has finally spoken. Invited to the National Sports Museum in Nice to receive the title of legend, he was asked about the American’s takeover after the departure of Jean-Michel Aulas last month. Contrary to rumours, Parker said he was satisfied with the contribution of the Americans to OL. Ambassador of the Lyon club for another year, Parker even suggested that his role could expand in the future.
Tony #Parker soon more (+) involved in the#OL ?@Tony Parker #eagle #Video
(BFMTV: https://t.co/NGLH6qCHTg) pic.twitter.com/vWVrHreUhW— OL+ (@OL__Plus) June 10, 2023
” They are ambitious and they want to do great things with this team. It’s not easy to get behind Jean-Michel Aulas! After the discussions I had with them, I know that they want to do well and they want to build beautiful things. All that suits me well since we too are ambitious at ASVEL. (…) Me for the moment, I am concentrating on ASVEL. Afterwards, we will see with the Americans, we will have discussions to find out if they want me to be more involved. In any case, I’m still an OL ambassador, I have one year left on my contract and I get on very well with them. We’ll see how it goes next. “, he said. Remember that John Textor is still looking for an executive president for OL who can already be based in Lyon. Present as a shareholder at ASVEL since 2009, Tony Parker has all the right profile.
