#John textor

[redwineconversation]

Jean-Michel Aulas Le Progres Interview (August 30, 2023)

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; this heat wave is killing my AC bill @OL Comms pls do something, etc etc.

Translating this because I can feel in my arthritic bones that people with Tumblr JDs and/or Tumblr Masters in Finance will suddenly declare themselves experts in both Lyon matters and French legal affairs.

Alexa, play "Vigilante Shit" by Taylor Swift

Jean-Michel Aulas: "If anyone has been wronged, it's me"

The Holnest company, owned by Jean-Michel Aulas, has started a legal proceeding in front of the City of Lyon Commerce Tribunal and achieved a hold of approximately 14.5 million euros from the club's account. The former president of Olympique Lyonnais gives his version of events on the conflict with John Textor.

Why bring a case against Olympique Lyonnais to the Commerce Tribunal?

It's not against Olympique Lyonnais but against Eagle. I just wish to receive the amount owed to me. We signed an agreement where you would sell a third of your shares on August 10 and the remaining two thirds a year later. I'm therefore in a situation where when one is not respecting the terms, and the only path forward is to go in front of the commerce tribunal. If anyone has been wronged, it's me.

Your successors feel as though you are acting against the club's interests.

I serve every time I am asked to. I found a solution for the DNGG [Financial Watchdog], but John [Textor] did the exact opposite and was sanctioned. I respect everything I am asked to do.

They say that you froze the club's accounts for seven days in the middle of the transfer season.

That's not what happened. I am owed 14,5M euros since August 10, so we put Eagle on notice to pay us via OL Groupe. They responded they couldn't do that. We pushed back and wanted to make sure there was enough money in the accounts. We quickly learned that that there was an account with more than the sum owed. John Textor then asked me to unfreeze the other accounts, I did that that very night. My interest is that Lyon continues to develop and gets back to its top form.

Santiago Cucci said that you had him over for dinner without telling him that you were going to freeze the accounts the next day.

It was 48 hours later. We didn't speak about that, he came to see me to find out how the transaction with Michele Kang could take place. [Note: Kang being in contact with Aulas more than Textor is both good and bad]

So you deny then acting against Olympique Lyonnais?

When I accepted that an investor come in, it was so that we could do much better than I had done the two previous years. It's terrible that people are accusing me of acting against Lyon. I am going abasing the investor who was chosen by Pathe and IDF and who was supposed to bring hundreds of millions [of euros]. I'm concerned that he will look for any excuse to save money by not paying any single person. We'll go in front of the tribunal if he doesn't intend on paying me.

Will you still be a Lyon fan?

Never will I support another club. I will die thinking of Lyon. I hope that we won't have to enter into a litigation dispute. But when I see that we were forced to bring in a Danish player via Belgium [In order to get around the financial watchdog sanctions, Textor's Belgian club bought a player and then sent him to Lyon on loan], I'm scared for my club.

Will you try and retake control of the club?

It's unimaginable. I want to be in charge of women's football at the [French Football] Federation.

Will you take part in the match against PSG?

I will be at the stadium on Sunday, even if they won't give me a place in the presidential loge which I am allowed as an administrator. I will get [a place] because Holnest has bought a lot, as they do each year.

[eurofootnews]

John Textor veut faire appel à une immense star du rap pour racheter avec lui Everton en Premier League

Continue reading John Textor veut faire appel à une immense star du rap pour racheter avec lui Everton en Premier League

[sporadicgentlemengardener-blog]

Enzo Fernandez, Textor e Cacá: Pedidos de Desculpas e o Mundo à Parte do Futebol

Futebol faz de tudo para se dissociar de um mundo normal. Como se fosse de outro planeta onde a lei civilizatória se resume a pedidos de desculpas por trangressões ou falta de caráter. Acompanhe três casos que aconteceram ao longo dessa semana e os pedidos de desculpas dos envolvidos em racismo, homofobia, crime e ódio: 1 – Quarta-feira (17/7) – John Textor, dono do Botafogo, fala em amor depois…

[blogoslibertarios]

Bomba: Dono do Botafogo afirma ter provas de favorecimento ao Palmeiras em dois Brasileirões

  O empresário norte-americano John Textor, proprietário da Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) do Botafogo, ou seja, dono do clube carioca, afirmou durante uma entrevista ter provas de que a arbitragem favoreceu o Palmeiras nas temporadas de 2022 e 2023. A notícia é d’O Antagonista. Uma acusação muito séria é que exigirá da justiça desportiva do Brasil uma punição significativa ao dirigente caso…

[actufoot]

John Textor s’est exprimé au sujet de Laurent Blanc

Les actualités football concernent John Textor, qui a évoqué le cas de Laurent Blanc. Il a tenu à préciser que l’entraîneur de l’Olympique Lyonnais ne risque aucun licenciement ou autres types de problèmes pour le moment.

[sports-et-equipements-de-foot]

Jean-Michel Aulas n’est plus le président de l’OL !

Coup de tonnerre du côté de l’Olympique Lyonnais ! Jean-Michel Aulas, qui occupait le poste de président du club depuis 1987, a décidé de quitter ses fonctions ce lundi. L’Américain John Textor a été nommé Directeur général intérimaire, jusqu’à ce qu’un remplaçant soit trouvé.

Crédit photo : Xavoun/Attribution - Partage dans les Mêmes Conditions 3.0 non transposé (CC BY-SA 3.0)

[didalexiabreakupwitholgayet]

Do you think if the qatar investment thing that owns psg or Emirates or even Saudi for all I know buys Barca or invests in it or smth it might save the club financially?

no unfortunately not because it doesn't take into account financial fair play rules. that's the factor that is driving all these issues. and la liga's rules are even stricter than the premier league ffp rules!

i mean billionaires have complained about that issue! just a few months ago, billionaire john textor (formerly of lyon women infamy) and crystal palace majority shareholder said:

“it doesn’t matter if you have a billion dollars of cash in a wheelbarrow, you’re not allowed to spend it."

anyway to better understand barça's financial position:

decoding la liga’s FFP and barça’s struggles and challenges

financial fair play rules explained

la liga financial fair play rules

[redwineconversation]

say something babe, do something (Olympique Lyonnais 2024 Contracts)

"You're Losing Me" is about the events which led up to what happened in "Maroon" and I will not entertain theories to the contrary.

Anyway, let's have a chat about Lyon's 2024 contracts, which I have addressed a little in the past and privately, but with Hegerberg's comments, it's worth revisiting.

Here are the major 2024 contracts: Ada Hegerberg, Griedge M'Bock, Delphine Cascarino, Perle Morroni, Christiane Endler, Vanessa Gilles, Vicki Becho, Eugenie Le Sommer.

Those are pretty considerable players. We're talking about the club's best and second best goal scorer, their starting goalkeeper, one of the best center backs in the world, a world class right winger, a world class left back, and arguably a very talented youngster. Losing those players would be catastrophic for the club, especially because there aren't really any equivalent players wandering around.

But why are we in a situation where we could lose such an important part of the roster?

First factor: John Textor taking over Olympique Lyonnais.

Nothing good has come from John Textor being the new owner. He fired Aulas, decided not to pay Aulas' separation agreement, decided to sell the women's team to a friend of his but a stranger to the team, failed to pass the financial watchdog not once not twice but three times, caused massive upheaval in the club, and is more hung up on Botafogo than Beth Mead stans are about the thought of Ellie Carpenter breathing.

John Textor fired Aulas because he didn't want Aulas' influence at the club anymore, and while you can argue that as majority owner he has the right to do what he wants with the club's personnel, Lyon's men team is also sitting bottom of the league and is about to have their third coach in as many months. There is enormous turmoil at Olympique Lyonnais and John Textor is the sole reason for it. He doesn't know what it means to run a successful European club and thinks he can do whatever he wants just like he did with Botofago. European clubs work different.

Perhaps John Textor's only saving grace is that he sold Lyon Feminin to Michele Kang. That's a good thing.

Or, well, is it?

Obviously given the choice between John Textor running Olympique Lyonnais Feminin or Michele Kang running it, I will choose Michele Kang. She is invested in women's soccer, believes in running it like a business, and seems to, at the very least, have some sort of interest in the sports. She has Lyon's interest at heart from a business perspective. She shows up to games, has plans, has ambitions.

All good things.

But what she is lacking is European experience. The fact of the matter is Washington Spirit is not a heavyweight club like Olympique Lyonnais Feminin is and you cannot recruit players for Washington Spirit at all because of the fucking draft the way Lyon needs their recruitment to be run. This club, with its European ambitions, cannot and should be run based on the premise of youth promise or trades.

What works with Washington Spirit is fine because that is restricted to the NWSL where there are no consequences for bad draft decisions. Bad recruitment for a European team can, has, and will cost a team the Champions League. It can, has, and will cost a team the league which affects their ability to go in the UWCL group stages and instead a team will find themselves against the likes of a scalp hunting team like Paris FC.

A team can finish rock bottom in the NWSL and there are absolutely zero consequences for the following season. It's a closed league with nothing at stake. If a team doesn't make the playoffs one season, who cares? There's always the next season. You don't win the Shield, that's a shame. You don't get the winner's bonus but that's it, really. You get another shot at it next season.

Camille Abily raised this concern about the playoffs in her recent OL Night Systems interview. Because of the structure, there is an actual possibility that Lyon might not even qualify for the UWCL playoffs, much less the group stage.

And that is always, always, always going to affect recruitment for a team of Lyon's calibre. I don't have the calendar in front of me, but I think the playoffs are May 12 and May 16 (or somewhere around those dates). Let's just roll with that. Now, Lyon has too many experienced players, too many international players, to be satisfied with not playing UWCL one season.

Ada Hegerberg is not going to stick around for a team who is not going to play Champions League, she just won't. Christiane Endler probably won't. Griedge M'Bock won't. Delphine Cascarino won't. I'm not even sure if the 2025 contracts would stick around - Selma Bacha definitely won't.

The type of players Lyon have just aren't going to accept chilling at home during the weekdays and watching other teams play the UWCL the entire season. That's just not going to happen.

Even if you can lock down these players prior to May 12, 2024 - and that's a massive if - any player with self-esteem is going to have an escape clause. As I said, Hegerberg isn't going to stick around for a team not playing in the Champions League all season. It's not going to happen. So how do you prepare for a team whose significant amount of players will be gun-shy to sign and then will want an escape clause even if they do?

It affects the recruitment. I've been vocal about wanting Leuchter, but would Lyon really be able to attract her? Not as things stand. They can't promise UWCL until May 12 at best, can't guarantee playing time, can't really say anything other than "okay... but like ... maybe... think about it?"

So we're back to the Michele Kang dilemma: what can she do, exactly?

At the moment, absolutely nothing, because she doesn't even officially own this team, and can't own it until OL Reign is officially sold. Seattle Sounders FC have officially entered negotiations to purchase the team but nothing has been finalized, and we are back to John Textor's "trust me, bro" in terms of seeing if it even occurs.

Even Textor had kept on Aulas until the sale of OL Reign was officially completed then there would have been an element of stability which is missing right now. Kang can't even make guarantees because she doesn't even own them. Yes, she's there, yes, she's behind the scenes, and yes, she is showing up.

But she doesn't own them. She can't make those final decisions.

But there is one other major factor: crowd attendance.

It's not a super persuasive argument in my mind, but it's still there. Lyon players deserve bigger crowds than they have. Now, there are factors which do explain the crowd attendance: Lyon's men team are absolutely shit. That does influence crowd attendance for female teams. If the men's team is successful, then people will care about other parts of the club. This will upset certain fan clubs, but let's be quite frank about it.

When Lyon men were capable of winning games, Lyon Fem was hitting in the 25k-30k range attendance at the Groupama Stadium. Then COVID hit, the men started being shit, Lyon Fem went through a season where they were trophyless, and that leads us to today. I'm not saying all of those are great arguments, but they are factors we need to take into consideration.

Lyon Fem gets ripped into for bad performances. The crowd is extremely unforgiving. Lyon had one (1) bad season where they didn't win anything and it did affect crowd attendance at the women's games for the following seasons. There are consequences to not living up to expectations. Lyon's shitty start to the 2022-2023 had consequences which we're still feeling to this day.

The crowd wants to get behind a team who wins. Lyon (Fem) fans have always cared about the football more than the social gathering at games. When Lyon had those wins, the football was a given, and the players didn't have to ask for people to show up. Fans showed up because winning was almost a guarantee.

2020-2021; Fall 2022 took those guarantees away.

It's not to say Lyon isn't trying to rebuild that trust. They are. And I think Kang's idea of building a midsize stadium (10-15k) is the right one. But again there are logistics behind it. Groupama is not the easiest stadium to get to, and the scheduling, especially of the women's games, makes it even more complicated as well. A majority of Lyon fans are 18+ and therefore have actual responsibilities, such as their education or jobs. A 9pm game on a Sunday night is going to affect attendance for fans who work full time. A novel concept for some, but that is the truth. People will (should?) choose to pay bills over attending a game. Though maybe there is a correlation between football social gatherings and unemployment rates.

So yeah, fan attendance is higher in other leagues, and there's reasons for that, amongst which are scheduling (which can be changed by the FFF), and success of the men's teams (in the hands of the Sports Gods).

Hegerberg's comments were annoying and, if I am frank, a little offensive to Lyon. She made it seem like Lyon is deliberately being passive about her contract situation rather than the club having its hands tied due to John Textor's lax definition of management.

Is Lyon's recruitment going to be really, really painful as long as the playoffs exist? Is Lyon's crowd attendance going to suffer while the men have won one (1) game in 12 attempts?

Yes.

It's really, really hard to predict what will happen with the 2024 contracts because these players will only play for UWCL teams. For the first time since 2006, Lyon doesn't know if they will be one.

[martynrandles]

Evertonians have 99 problems with the club right now but Jay-Z possibly investing ain’t one!

No idea if this has any truth in it, but new stadium, naming rights, sponsorship, gigs, all makes sense as a great investment.

[sporadicgentlemengardener-blog]

Enzo Fernandez, Textor e Cacá: Pedidos de Desculpas e o Mundo à Parte do Futebol

Futebol faz de tudo para se dissociar de um mundo normal. Como se fosse de outro planeta onde a lei civilizatória se resume a pedidos de desculpas por trangressões ou falta de caráter. Acompanhe três casos que aconteceram ao longo dessa semana e os pedidos de desculpas dos envolvidos em racismo, homofobia, crime e ódio: 1 – Quarta-feira (17/7) – John Textor, dono do Botafogo, fala em amor depois…

[olplus]

L'entraîneur de Molenbeek viré par John Textor, Claudio Caçapa devrait le remplacer L'Équipe

[uswnt5]

https://twitter.com/atafball/status/1604943678501527552?s=46&t=xwzo1W0_tpVm3xwnhbCR7A

“John Textor's takeover of Lyon has resulted in contract talks being delayed. Lyon still would like to keep her and will look at further talks as soon as possible.” Yeah she’s most likely not leaving

gross that dude sucks ass

[botafogodeprimeira]

Com amistoso, Botafogo quebrará seu 'jejum' de jogos disputados na Europa. Saiba mais!

Com amistoso, Botafogo quebrará seu ‘jejum’ de jogos disputados na Europa. Saiba mais!

Amistoso do Alvinegro com Crystal Palace encerrará tabu que dura desde 2008 Botafogo se preparará para voltar a fazer uma excursão (Foto: Vitor Silva / Botafogo) O amistoso do Botafogo com Crystal Palace (ING), marcado para o dia 3 de dezembro, marcará o fim de um hiato do clube. Graças ao amistoso em Londres com um adversário que é gerido por John Textor, o Alvinegro voltará a fazer um jogo na…

[eurofootnews]

Premier League : Everton va être racheté, et ce n'est pas par John Textor

Continue reading Premier League : Everton va être racheté, et ce n’est pas par John Textor

[meuvasco]

...

[redwineconversation]

The Alcott

There will be those who will argue that what was Arsene Wenger was to Arsenal, Jean-Michel Aulas was to Lyon.

That argument is wrong.

I'm not denying Wenger's impact at Arsenal. He is part of the reason I became an Arsenal (men's) fan, after all. I didn't know Arsenal before Wenger. They became mine under him, a team of misfits, awkward in their own right, but special, different. They were awkward and gangly and they won things and you looked at them play and thought "huh, weird" but also "I'll see you next week." Arsene Wenger changed Arsenal. Let's not get that wrong.

But Jean-Michel Aulas created Lyon. I think there's a difference.

I talk a lot about the importance of understanding Lyon's history and I stand by that. To know Lyon is to understand them. To understand why they are the way they are today, you have to understand how they got to that point. You have to understand how we got to where we are, is what I am trying to say. History matters. it has always mattered.

OL Groupe released a statement overnight that Jean-Michel Aulas is no longer president of Olympique Lyonnais and that John Textor will be taking over the role.

I cannot help but be extremely concerned for what this means for Olympique Lyonnais Feminin.

Now, I know what NWSL fans are going to argue. Michele Kang cares about WoSo, they will say. Washington Spirit players love Michele Kang. She's rich, they insist, she'll put money in the team, this is a good thing.

Those arguments are superficial at best.

You can't equate Michele Kang to Jean-Michel Aulas, you just can't. Michele Kang saved Washington Spirit, sure, I'll give you as much. I'll even grant you that she cares about WoSo. I think she believes in the cause.

But that's not enough for a team like Olympique Lyonnais Feminin. There is too much at stake. This isn't a spat about an owner that doesn't care at all, this is about taking over from a president who literally, and I do mean that in the proper sense of the term, built the team in his own image. Olympique Lyonnais Feminin exists because Aulas wanted to build the best women's team in the world. He didn't want to buy it, he wanted to create it.

Aulas and Kang are both business(wo)men, I'm not denying that at all. But they don't hold the same level of influence. I sincerely doubt Kang will get Lyon players to listen the way that Aulas did. And why should they listen to Kang? What has she done for Lyon, exactly?

Lyon is such an emotional team, they really are. They crave loyalty about all else, and John Textor took that away from them. He broke their trust, and we're supposed to believe that Lyon is going to transfer their trust to a total stranger in Michele Kang?

As I said, to believe that demonstrates a total misunderstanding of Olympique Lyonnais operates.

UEFA will not pick up the phone if Michele Kang calls. FIFA will not pick up the phone if Michele Kang calls. FIFPro won't pick up, the national federations won't pick up, I'm not even sure if the league representatives will pick up.

It's nothing personal, it's just that Michele Kang hasn't ... well, done anything. She saved Washington Spirit, sure, but are we really going to sit here and argue that Washington Spirit holds the same name brand as Olympique Lyonnais? Are we going to pretend the results are the same, the players are the same, the consequences are the same?

Who cares, really, if Washington Spirit lose every game of the season? There are no real consequences thanks to how the NWSL is structured. You're going to argue I am being too harsh. Okay, I'll lower the bar. Are there really any consequences if Washington Spirit does not make the playoffs? Of course not. Now imagine the repercussions if Olympique Lyonnais fails to qualify for the Champions League.

Are we going to sit here and pretend that's the same thing?

Are we going to sit here, and be honest, you and I. Are we going to sit here and pretend that Michele Kang has demonstrated the ability to manage a team like Olympique Lyonnais? What happens when there's a clash between a Lyon player and a national federation? What is Michele Kang going to do about it? No one cares about how Michele Kang feels about the situation because Michele Kang hasn't dealt with that situation.

it frustrates me enormously that certain OL (men) fans are celebrating Aulas being out, as though he is the problem for Lyon (men)'s lackluster performances. They say you don't always appreciate what you have until it's gone, and I am genuinely, genuinely afraid that we are going to experience this live.

I'm angry at John Textor, too. I think the way he has handled this club since his takeover is insulting. It shows a blatant lack of understanding of the club's history and how it actually operates.

But more than that I am concerned. As I keep saying, Michele Kang doesn't have the understanding of Olympique Lyonnais Feminin to get the players on her side. They won't trust her, which means they won't go to her, which means they won't obey her. Those are all important elements.

I know I keep hammering on about this, but you don't run an NWSL club the way you run a Champions League club, and especially not a club like Olympique Lyonnais. You don't buy that team's loyalty, you earn it.

John Textor bought the most successful women's club in football history. He managed to turn it into Umea.

If we're not going to talk about how that will damage women's football, then we have a serious problem.