The revelation of L’Équipe on the night of Sunday to Monday had the effect of a bomb and OL did not wait long to confirm it this Monday morning at 7:45 a.m.: Jean-Michel Aulas is no longer the president – CEO of OL Groupe. The decision was taken during the last board meeting, held on Friday 5 May. During this, John Textor was appointed chairman of the board of directors of OL Groupe as well as interim managing director, pending the next appointment of the new managing director.
Why now ?
In the aftermath of OL’s incredible victory against Montpellier (5-4) and especially with four rounds to go, the timing inevitably calls out. Why was the club unable to complete the season before announcing such a shake-up? Absent from the stands during OL’s last two games, an extremely rare occurrence at home, Jean-Michel Aulas had disappeared from the radar for some time. In his last appearance, in the defeat against Marseille (1-2), he sat next to John Textor.
According to the initial deal, the two men were to live together for three years: Textor, owner and Aulas, operational delegate president. Those who know JMA well did not believe it for a second. Neither do those who know the business. A close friend of the club whispered to us this winter in our ear: “Do you know someone who buys a company and leaves his predecessor in place to make all the decisions? Others were surprised, however, by the apparent passivity of John Textor, in the wake of the club’s takeover on December 19. Since that date, 77.5% of OL Groupe’s capital has been held by its holding company Eagle Football.
The 57-year-old American finally took only a few weeks to consider profound changes in the way the club operates. The first grievances between him and Aulas appeared in the winter transfer window when Textor encouraged Lyon recruiters to work on the track of Brazilian Joao Gomes. He did not come to Lyon and OL missed the recruitment of Ellyes Skhiri in this period of time, which Jean-Michel Aulas did not appreciate.
The ex-boss of OL did not want to hear about a major overhaul in the club’s sports organization either, even going so far as to promise in Le Monde a future position as sports director to Bruno Cheyrou, the head of the recruitment cell threatened by John Textor. Obviously, Jean-Michel Aulas was not ready to accept that another decides above him. “He naively believed that he would remain the boss for three years”, is even surprised by a well-informed personality.
What’s going to happen ?
The club is now completely under the control of John Textor, owner and operational chairman. This last function is however only temporary, a new Managing Director will soon be appointed by John Textor. Like a Vincent Ponsot (director of football) visibly mortified on Sunday in the official gallery, it is a whole club which is feverishly awaiting the continuation of events.
Bruno Cheyrou, head of the recruitment unit, is possibly in the hot seat. But who can be sure of his future at OL at the moment T? Even the future of coach Laurent Blanc, under contract until 2024, will necessarily be linked to the will of the future operational management of the club. John Textor already promises strong ambitions in the press release published this Monday morning: “The priority of the new Chairman and CEO and of the Board of Directors will be to strengthen the place of Olympique Lyonnais on the world football scene, in line with of the highest ambitions of its illustrious history”.
The American, so far notably known for having been the largest shareholder and executive chairman of fuboTV, an American platform specializing in the aggregation of streaming channels, is now on the front line. OL are expecting a lot from their next speech in order to really know their strategy, while the American has not said much so far about his plans for the future.
What future for Aulas?
At 74, JMA is not ready to retire. If his appointment as “Honorary President” of OL Groupe is purely anecdotal, it is understood that no one imagines him contenting himself with spending happy days with his fiancée near Saint-Tropez, his favorite vacation spot. A man of power, the entrepreneur should not stay away from it for long.
A time tipped to take control of the future French women’s professional league whose creation he staunchly defended, Jean-Michel Aulas has since leaked that he wanted it to be led by a woman. Therefore, could the former OL boss aspire to take the helm of the French Football Federation, a goal that has been attributed to him for several years? The next federal assembly of the FFF will decide on June 10 on the extension at its head of Philippe Diallo, interim president since the ousting of Noël Le Graët at the start of the year. Member of the Comex (executive committee of the FFF), Jean-Michel Aulas now has a free hand to claim to occupy the direction.
