Lyon (AFP)

Eliminated in the semi-final of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, Wednesday in Lisbon (3-0), Lyon comes out of its epic at the level of the collective and the image but, deprived of Europe next season, its course makes you fear an exploit without immediate future.

By releasing two top names, Juventus Turin and Manchester City, Olympique Lyonnais consolidated their notoriety on the continent and, perhaps, gained sympathy at the national level. But will he capitalize on sport? Its economic model, always based on contract transfers and which calls on it to constantly rebuild its team, gives rise to doubts.

And this will be even more the case in 2020-2021, for lack of European competition.

Already in 2010, after its first semi-final of C1, Lyon had not confirmed with a 2010-2011 season crossed in the crisis and weighed down by the construction costs of its new stadium, but concluded with a 3rd place at the snatched, a round of 16 in the Champions League (against Real 1-1, 0-3) and the ouster of coach Claude Puel one year from the end of his four-year contract.

This time, it is the 7th place and the absence of Europe combined with the health crisis, the premature end of the championship and the serious drop in ticketing which are a blow to the finances, for an amount of 180 million euros according to Jean-Michel Aulas. It will now be necessary to downsize the workforce and control spending.

- A team to rebuild -

Houssem Aouar or Moussa Dembélé already wanted to leave in the spring and their transfer is more relevant than ever.

Memphis Depay has always aspired to find a club more upscale than OL and is also looking elsewhere. But his state of form, after his knee operation, calls out. He still has not extended his contract which ends in June 2021.

In addition to these three major players, Lyon wants to get rid of elements like Bertrand Traoré, who has never confirmed and who is one of the club's big salaries, or even defenders Rafael, Kenny Tete and Youssouf Koné, a disappointment in the 2019 recruitment. .

Martin Terrier has already left for Rennes for twelve million euros just like Lucas Tousart for 25 million EUR at Hertha Berlin, in January.

Conversely, Olympique Lyonnais anticipated this winter with the recruitments of Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes in the middle as well as Zimbabwean from Le Havre Tino Kadewere and Karl Toko-Ekambi in attack.

On Tuesday, the club announced that it had hired, for a bet on the future, the young Turkish central defender (19) Cenk Özkaçar and will count on the confirmation of Maxence Caqueret in the middle and the emergence of young people like Rayan Cherki, Sinaly Diomandé or Melvin Bard, if he does not go to Bayern Munich or, why not, Brazilians Camilo and Jean Lucas.

For the rest, OL will rebuild their team around Guimaraes and Caqueret, of course, but also with the former Angevin Jeff Reine-Adelaide, stopped in his tracks by a serious knee injury in December and the successful repositioning of Maxwel Cornet on the left flank, rear or piston in a 3-5-2 which seems to be favored by coach Rudi Garcia.

The recruitment of an experienced central defender, still, remains relevant by the end of the transfer window, on October 5. With one game per week, however, there is no need for a large squad. But without Europe, or big money, it's difficult to attract major players.

- State of mind to keep -

However, beyond the men, OL will now have to maintain the conquering state of mind displayed in the last matches to confirm in Ligue 1 by obviously aiming for the podium, at a minimum, and by challenging the domination of PSG as much as possible. .

In 2014-2015, the Olympique Lyonnais, deprived of Europe in September after an elimination from the Europa League play-offs, had delivered a brilliant season and was classified 2nd after having fought until the end for the title against the Paris Saint-Germain with the emergence of Nabil Fekir, Corentin Tolisso, Alexandre Lacazette and Samuel Umtiti, not to mention Maxime Gonalons.

Semi-finalists of the Europa League in 2017, these players have all been transferred since, following Umtiti who left in 2016, for a total of EUR 151 million excluding bonus.

© 2020 AFP