"The big boss", "football owes him a lot": the tributes paid to Jean-Michel Aulas in Europe 1 Sport

Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin / Photo credit: REMY GABALDA / AFP 20:10 pm, May 08, 2023

After the announcement of the departure of Jean-Michel Aulas from the presidency of Olympique Lyonnais, the testimonies of actors of French football who crossed his path multiply to pay tribute to the one who held the Rhone club with an iron fist for 36 years. In office since 1987, Jean-Michel Aulas left his place as CEO of OL Groupe, at the end of a board meeting held on Friday, to the American John Textor who bought the Rhone club last December.

Passed on the bench of Olympique Lyonnais during the 2007-2008 season, Alain Perrin recalled in Europe 1 Sport (every evening from 20 hours to 23 hours live on Europe 1) a leader who "always spoke about the institution". Jean-Michel Aulas lived for OL: "The institution was Jean-Michel Aulas, he was the boss," said the technician. Arrived in 1987 at the head of the club, the former Lyon president has made OL a major player in French football like the seven consecutive France league titles between 2002 and 2008.

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"War machine"

For many players in the football world, Jean-Michel Aulas was "the big boss" of Lyon as mentioned by Alain Perrin in Europe 1 Sport. "Whether economically or sportingly," the former club president ruled the club with an iron fist. For Gervais Martel, president of RC Lens from 1988 to 2012 and then from 2013 to 2017, the former business leader left nothing to chance: "He is someone who first listened and who watched a lot of what was happening in football before setting up the formidable war machine that was Olympique Lyonnais."

But for the latter, this surprise announcement, and premature, is not surprising if we look at the current situation of the Lyon club. "I suspected that at some point, with these changes of objective, of doctrine, he was able to leave," responded the latter in Europe 1 Sport. Since the takeover of OL by the holding company Eagle Football, owned by John Textor, the disagreements between the historic president and the new American manager were increasingly felt. "I don't know what happened, time will tell. I regret that he left in the form of a statement," said Gervais Martel before adding: "French football owes him a lot." Jean-Michel Aulas was initially supposed to hold his position as president until at least 2025, before leaving the hand entirely to Textor.