• Olympique Lyonnais announced on Monday evening that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with John Textor, who will hold 66.65% of the capital of OL Groupe in one month.

  • The 56-year-old American businessman was present this Tuesday at the Parc OL auditorium, alongside Jean-Michel Aulas, to hold his first press conference.

  • Very comfortable with the media, John Textor did not hide his great ambitions, indicating from the outset "really wanting to win the Champions League".

Jean-Michel Aulas was in vain to delight from the outset with a superb “Where is the helmet for John?

“, he was not the most anticipated interlocutor, this Tuesday in the auditorium of Parc OL.

All the Lyon supporters were indeed eager to discover their new boss, the American John Textor (56).

In nineteen minutes of an introductory monologue as interesting as going in all directions, and described as a "true profession of faith" by JMA, it was easy to understand why the two businessmen had agreed on the contours of this new era into which OL are entering.

At the end of the OL Groupe general meeting on July 29, John Textor will thus be the club's majority shareholder, with 66.56% of the capital, while Jean-Michel Aulas will be well maintained for "at least three years" as CEO of Olympique Lyonnais.

What push the latter to launch Tuesday with enthusiasm: "It's a great day for the institution".

"I don't like these club models like PSG"

The future will decide this question, but John Textor's presentation to the press highlighted his "sincere love for this sport", his "enormous interest in the development of young people" as well as his attachment to the "family and collaborative” that he wishes to promote between the various clubs in which he is a shareholder, namely Botafogo (Brazil), Crystal Palace (England) and Molenbeek (Belgium).

But also his ambition, which is reminiscent of that of his compatriot Frank McCourt when he arrived at the head of OM in 2016.

“Dreaming awake is something very important and we want to win titles, confides the man who made his fortune in the production of technologies and special effects for the cinema.

I really want to win the Champions League.

“Before distilling many spades against PSG, as Jean-Michel Aulas has done so much since the arrival of QSI.

"I do not like these models of clubs like PSG and I hope that we will be able to beat them", launched John Textor bluntly, before apologizing with a smile to JMA, at the end of the conference. ', to have gone on this delicate ground since his enthronement.

“We will have more means to recruit”

A strong man of OL for thirty-five years, he assures us in any case that he felt in John Textor the desire to "put football at the heart of our future ambitions".

This is precisely the main criticism addressed by Lyon supporters to the last ten years without a title of the Aulas era, more marked by the construction of the new stadium, the Arena, as well as the takeover of OL Reign and the merger with Asvel than by the sporting performance of the men's team.

"We will have more resources to recruit and we will be even more ambitious with the presence of John by our side", insists Jean-Michel Aulas.

The capital increase that will allow the arrival of John Textor, up to 86 million euros, will largely serve to strengthen the team after this disastrous season, concluded in 8th place in Ligue 1. OL, which the American sees as "the big brother" of the four clubs in which he has invested, is ready to launch its transformation.

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