It s so miserable! The former Ligue 1 seven-time champion is now on the verge of relegation and may go bankrupt and withdraw!

Recently, when it comes to the most shocking news in football, in addition to the unexpected death of Portuguese international Jota, he is probably a giant in the French Ligue 1 league for many years. Lyon, which has won the league championship seven times, is likely to be relegated next season, and may even declare bankruptcy and withdraw from the French league. You know, although they performed averagely this season, their background is still there, and they eventually ranked sixth in the league with a record of 17 wins, 6 draws and 11 losses. In addition, there are also many people in the team's lineup, including Fofana, Zaha, Lacazette, etc., and Cherki's transfer has been completed recently. So what exactly happened that caused the Ligue 1 Seven-Crown Champions League to face such a serious catastrophe, and is there still a turning point in the incident? Let’s explore it together below!

1. The debt was completely out of control and the financial violations were repeatedly made.

First of all, Lyon's biggest problem is that his debt is completely out of control. According to data, as of the end of last month, Lyon's total debt in the team's various expenses had exceeded an astonishing 500 million euros. Although the club has recently raised some funds by selling players such as Cacre, Alban, and Cherki, and the team's owner John Texter even transferred some shares of its American women's football club and home stadium in order to save the team, it is still far from reaching the minimum 175 million euros required by the French National Administration and Control Agency DNCG. What's more serious is that the club was exposed to have made some private transactions with Nottingham Forest, defender Niaket introduced at double price, midfielder Mangala, who immediately loaned back to the Premier League after buying out at a high price, etc. These operations were questioned to help other teams avoid financial penalties, and there is a possibility of "doing accounts", so they were also included in the investigation.

In addition, as early as this year's winter window, Lyon was strictly monitored by DNCG, and because of the repeated financial violations and their debts were already very huge at the time, DNCG directly prohibited their signing operations in the winter window. At that time, according to the Ligue 1 financial regulations, if the team cannot improve its financial situation, it will trigger the team's automatic relegation regulations, and DNCG has issued their warning. But the result is that they have not been able to fill such a huge funding problem in half a year. So it was also on the 25th of last month that DNCG determined according to the regulations that Lyon no longer had the financial foundation to participate in the Ligue 1, so they were ordered to take some remedial measures in the last time, otherwise they would be directly relegated to the French League next season.

2. Management makes mistakes and the boss's management model is constantly problematic.

In fact, since Texter became the team's new boss, he has never been recognized by fans and the media. As an American entrepreneur, his business model is completely different from that in Europe. He is keen on acquiring multiple teams in business, which makes his subordinates, including Bergamo, Bergamo, Molenbeck, and Crystal Palace in the Premier League, all of which are shares, and the share is not small. This multi-club business method has always been disgusted by the media and fans, because behind this means that there are some unexplained dispersion of resources and mutual transfer of interests. The most obvious case is that Thiago Almada transferred from Botavgo to Lyon without spending too much money. And what's worse is that when he acquired Lyon, the 425 million euros he spent was actually from the loan. The team was in trouble this time, and he did not provide help. You know, he sold Crystal Palace shares not long ago and received 190 million pounds, but he still did not invest in the issue of Lyon, so fans also ridiculed him as a "vampire".

Finally, there is another thing that must be mentioned, that is, although the team's recruitment strength in recent years is good, it is not proportional to the team's record at all. In the winter window of 2023 and summer window of 2024, the team invested a total of 230 million euros, but the result was a loss of 130 million euros. The players introduced at high prices did not perform as well as the team's performance did not improve significantly, but instead increased the team's salary burden. This season, they failed to enter the top four. After losing their qualification for the Champions League, they directly lost 40 million euros in bonuses, becoming the last straw that overwhelmed the camels. So, for Lyon now, their only way is to raise funds in a limited time, but the problem is that the boss doesn't seem to want to save this down-and-out rich family. Therefore, it seems that Lyon is already in a desperate situation. It may be that next season, they will really see them on the stage of the French Ligue 2, and it may even be because they are unable to repay these debts. Lyon, a century-old club, will completely become history, which is definitely something that fans are unwilling to accept.