John Textor, Olympique Lyonnais and Brazil, it’s a love triangle that seems set to continue well. If the Rhone club has seen many very good Auriverde players pass through its ranks such as Sonny Anderson, Juninho, Cris or more recently Bruno Guimarães and Lucas Paqueta, the American businessman is also the owner of the Botafogo club. It was also through this team that he recruited Luiz Henrique from Real Betis Balompié last winter. The 23-year-old winger was promised during the negotiations the possibility of returning to Europe, notably with the existence of the Olympique Lyonnais gateway.
And this time again, John Textor would like to draw from the Verdiblancos. For once, it would be directly for Olympique Lyonnais since the left side Abner (23 years old) is very popular. While Nicolas Tagliafico (31 years old) arrives one year from the end of his contract and could thus leave this summer, he who was also mentioned at Real Betis Balompié last winter, the recruitment of a player at this position for next season seems important for Les Gones.
Close agreement between the clubs, Abner is seduced by OL
And this seems almost complete for the people of Rhône according to the latest information from the journalist Fabrizio Romano. Thus, an agreement would be very close to being found for the transfer of the player. The latter would also have accepted the conditions issued by Olympique Lyonnais for an arrival from July 1. Arriving at Real Betis Balompié from Athletico Paranaense a year ago, in the winter of 2023, Abner cost the Verdiblancos 7 million euros.
Alternating between starts and the bench last year (16 appearances), he has played more this season (23 matches played), without being indisputable within Manuel Pellegrini’s team. Winner of the 2021 Copa Sudaméricana with Athletico Paranaense and the 2020 Olympic Games (summer 2021) with Brazil, Abner is considered a player of the future in his position, but has not yet managed to confirm this. A transfer to Olympique Lyonnais could therefore allow him to reach this level. The file is just waiting for its finalization.
