Lyon owner John Textor lifts lid on Liverpool-linked Rayan Cherki following provisional Ligue 2 relegation decision

Olympique Lyonnais owner John Textor held a press conference this morning at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium after the DNCG ruling. The French football financial watchdog handed a severe sanction to Les Gones. The Ligue 1 club has been hit with a provisional Ligue 2 relegation, the supervision of their wages and a transfer ban. The Eagle Football Group chief is confident that Lyon were in no danger of falling into the second-tier. “We won’t be relegated“, Textor said in his press conference attended by L’Equipe.

Textor explained how Lyon deliberately spent millions in players’ transfers to alter the course of the past campaign, when the Ligue 1 side went from a relegation-battling side under Laurent Blanc and Fabio Grosso to a surprise Europa League contestant under the tutelage of Pierre Sage. “But we have too many players today, ” Textor said. “ There are 29 of them. Ideally, there should be 23 or 24. Some did not leave and Pierre must decide who he wants to field. We have too many of them.” A relegation fire sale may play in Textor’s hands.

Among players whose departure was expected last summer is Rayan Cherki (21). The France U21 international attacking midfielder brewed interest from Premier League sides with Lyon agreeing a €15m transfer fee from Fulham FC, but Cherki stayed put, signing a new contract in the process. It has been reported Liverpool enquired about acquiring his services. “With him, we lost €15m (…) but he has a greater market value. He should stay in January but it will come down to his choice, as always in football”, Textor adds. To balance the books, the American businessman projects a €54m slashing of the club’s wages for next season, from €128m to €74m.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval