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Lyon’s new owner, John Textor cites the club’s ties with Botafogo’s partner Pelé Academia, and hopes to quickly deploy a ‘collaboration network’

In a statement released by OL Groupe, responsible for managing football in the Lyon, John Textor celebrated the purchase of the French club, made official this Monday. In a message addressed to the fans, the American businessman showed excitement with the acquisition of a new strength for the Eagle Footballits international multiclub holding company.

“Today represents a new beginning for Olympique Lyonnais. After four months of constructive negotiations marked by a common understanding with Jean-Michel Aulas and all our partners, we are proud to reach this exceptional agreement. It will be a milestone in the history of European and international football development, thanks to the joining within one structure, Eagle Football, of our holdings in football clubs with a rich culture and decades of experience: Olympique Lyonnais, Crystal Palace, Botafogo and RWD Molenbeek,” began Textor.

The American businessman cited the excellence in the training of players carried out by the French club, both in the men’s and women’s teams, and mentioned Lyon’s ties with Academia Pelé, a partner of the Resende and which also has a great relationship with Botafogo.

“Eagle Football intends to quickly implement the collaboration between its clubs, namely in France, Brazil and Belgium, linking itself to the training and development methodologies of Olympique Lyonnais, a reference in the area. An immediate example of these opportunities is Academia Pelé, OL’s historic partner in Brazil, which is already a neighbor and regular commercial partner of Botafogo. We will obviously continue to be a supportive and significant partner at Crystal Palace as we look forward to our global talent development brand being able to be a collaborative resource for all of our Eagle affiliated clubs and communities,” said Textor.

As disclosed by Lyon, Eagle Football became the owner of 77.49% of the capital of OL Groupe, the company that manages the French club. The transaction revolves around € 800 million (R$ 4.5 billion). In addition, Textor owns 90% of SAF’s control of Botafogo, 80% of RWD Molenbeek, of Belgium, and about 40% of Crystal Palace.

Check out John Textor’s letter to Lyon fans in full:

“Today represents a new beginning for Olympique Lyonnais. After four months of constructive negotiations marked by a common understanding with Jean-Michel Aulas and all our partners, we are proud to reach this exceptional agreement. It will be a milestone in the history of the development of European and international football, thanks to the joining within one structure, Eagle Football, of our participations in football clubs with a rich culture and decades of experience: Olympique Lyonnais, Crystal Palace, Botafogo and RWD Molenbeek

Significant investment was needed to bring this ambitious project to life, which includes my stakes in the three clubs that will join Eagle Football alongside Olympique Lyonnais. We are also honored to have received the support of new partners who have made substantial commitments to join us in this ambitious project to build a new football model. These respected and experienced investors bring specific and significant experience in the management and development of sports organizations as well as in the technology and entertainment areas.

Eagle Football, of which Jean-Michel Aulas will be an independent director, intends to quickly implement collaboration between its clubs, namely in France, Brazil and Belgium, linking itself to the training and development methodologies of Olympique Lyonnais, a reference in the area. An immediate example of these opportunities is Academia Pelé, OL’s historic partner in Brazil, which is already a neighbor and regular commercial partner of Botafogo. We will obviously continue to be a supportive and significant partner at Crystal Palace as we look forward to our global talent development brand being a collaborative resource for all of our Eagle affiliated clubs and communities.

The conditions are therefore right for us to work together, with Jean-Michel, on sporting, organizational and infrastructure issues. He will retain operational management at Olympique Lyonnais for at least three years and will remain surrounded by his team. We are already thinking together about how we can strengthen our strategy to recover the highest ambitions in football for our men’s and women’s teams, but also for you, the fans, whose expectations we value immensely.

City of entrepreneurs, innovation, pioneering spirit, exchange of experiences, gastronomy and football, Lyon is the ideal city to start this new story together. It is thanks to all these values ​​that Jean-Michel Aulas built Olympique Lyonnais. He allowed football to enter the modern era. Its mixed academy, stadium, infrastructure, sports policy and respect for fans were always ahead of their time. Jean-Michel Aulas and OL put Lyon on the world football map and that’s why we are proud to stand alongside them today.

With Lyon, I discovered a magnificent city and fans who want to see their teams perform at a high level. A city of confluence, of convergence, capable of welcoming those who want to succeed there and donate themselves through their work. This confluence between what Jean-Michel Aulas built and what we want to achieve together could change football and its models for the better.

I look forward to seeing you all in Lyon, meeting all the fan groups and, most of all, feeling the emotion of watching our teams play. A new story begins today, rooted in your fervor and all of our past experiences together. This is our strength and I think of a bright future.

Allex l’OL!”

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