Alexandre Lacazette rejects Saudi Arabia move as Lyon president John Textor fumes at the Kingdom’s spending

Olympique Lyonnais’ free-scoring forward Alexandre Lacazette (32) is the latest player to be linked with a big-money move to Saudi Arabia.

However, the former Arsenal striker is currently not entertaining the prospect of joining the Gulf kingdom, according to RMC Sport. As reported by L’Équipe, Lyon president John Textor is left seething at Saudi Arabia’s transfer spree. The head of American investment fund Eagle Football Holdings said in an interview with Canal do TF he was frustrated by Saudi Arabia’s desire to buy his most prized assets.

“The Saudis want everything“, Textor said. “They want my best player at Lyon, my best player at Crystal Palace, the best players and my coach at Botafogo. Their strategy is to buy everything.” It does not take long to understand that, according to Textor, a PIF-funded Saudi Arabia outfit wants to sign Lacazette. The Lyon youth product was evidently Les Gones‘ most valuable player after a prolific season, in which he gave Kylian Mbappé a run for his money in the race to the title of Ligue 1 best goalscorer.

According to a report from RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins, the Saudis have indeed shown an interest in Lacazette. But the latter has reportedly not shown a reciprocal interest, hinting that he feels good at Lyon off the back of a season where he found the back of the net a remarkable 31 times.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval