The leaders of Olympique Lyonnais can blow a little. After several months of tensions and concerns about the club's financial health, good news has just arrived from the Eagle Football group, owner of OL. John Textor, the American billionaire at the helm, managed to finalize the sale of his 45 % of shares held in Crystal Palace.
The buyer is none other than Woody Johnson, a 78 -year -old American billionaire, also owner of the American football team from New York Jets. The English club has confirmed this transaction, which marks an important turning point for Eagle Football. This operation could bring in nearly 200 million euros, a substantial sum which strengthens the group's financial solidity.
For OL, this sale arrives at a crucial moment. The Rhone club is under surveillance of the National Control and Management Directorate (DNCG), the body responsible for validating the budgets of professional clubs. Lyon presents its accounts this Tuesday, June 24, in a tense context marked by a debt estimated at 175 million euros and an absence in the Champions League, next season being limited to the Europa League.
Crystal Palace can dream of Europe
Although money from the sale of shares is not yet officially injected into the Lyon Caisses, this promise of additional liquidity reassures decision -makers. Present in the United States in the success of Botafogo against PSG in the club World Cup, John Textor had displayed smiling and confident. “Everything is financially good”he said on Friday.
In addition, this transfer also has consequences for Crystal Palace. Now independent of the Eagle Football group, the English club will be able to compete in the Europa League without fear of a conflict of interest. On the Lyon side, it is a real thunderclap: on the eve of a capital meeting for the future of the club in Ligue 1, Textor strikes a big blow.
