The Story of Lyon: A Financial Disaster

Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) is one of France's most revered and historic football clubs. In June of 2025, they came dangerously close to relegation from Ligue 1 not as a result of poor on-field performance, but rather financial instability.

Financial History

This crisis did not happen overnight. Lyon's financial issues can be traced back to 2022, when the club was acquired by Eagle Football Group, a club ownership group led by American investor John Textor. At first, the deal promised Lyon fans a future of ambition and modernization. However, with that promise came aggressive expansion, leveraged financing, and a divided focus across various clubs. Quickly, Lyon began to accumulate significant amounts of debt as they invested heavily in club infrastructure and player transfers without maintaining a balanced budget. This, combined with inconsistent results on the pitch, led the club's spending to rapidly outpace its revenue. By 2024, auditors at the DNCG began issuing warnings to Lyon which set the stage for financial intervention in the summer of 2025.

Financial Mismanagement

In June of 2025, France's financial watchdog, the DNCG, initially relegated Lyon to Ligue 2 due to a $203,000,000 funding gap and unsustainable levels of debt tied to it's parent company, Eagle Football Group. Despite various sales of valuable assets, including star player Ryan Cherki to Manchester CIty for $42,000,000, the DNCG ultimately ruled that Lyon had not secured enough liquidity, and promptly announced their relegation to Ligue 2.

Appeal and Reversal

In the weeks which followed the DNCG's decision, Lyon launched a desperate appeal. The club's leadership rushed to present a revised financial plan that would satisfy the concern's held by the DNCG. In addition, various actions were taken including the sale of players and the partial sale of Eagle Football Group's stake in Crystal Palace (a club in the Premier League). Perhaps more importantly, John Textor stepped down as the president of Eagle Football Group as Michele Kang took over the position (owner of Lyon’s women’s team).

These bold moves, combined with more detailed financial disclosures and commitments to strict salary caps, finally convinced the DCNG to reverse their decision on July the 9th. As a result, Lyon will take part in the Ligue 1 season for the 2025-26 season and will avoid relegation to Ligue 2 for the time being.

Conclusion

Lyon's near fall to Ligue 2 was an important reminder to the football institutions of the world that financial mismanagement can threaten even the most historic of clubs. Moving forward, Lyon will need to practice financial restrain and spending diligently if they wish to avoid financial issues in the future.