Lyon owner Textor to take step back from running club after relegation to Ligue 2
PHILADELPHIA: American businessman John Textor has said he is going to take a step back from the day-to-day running of French club Lyon after they were relegated to Ligue 2 due to their financial situation.
"Our success on the pitch has not been matched by our success off the pitch," Textor told AFP in relation to Lyon's plight despite them finishing sixth in Ligue 1 in the season just finished to qualify for Europe.
Textor runs Lyon in his role as president of Eagle Football, the group which owns several clubs including Brazilian champions Botafogo.
But he admitted that his efforts to reduce Lyon's debts and solve their problems have not been enough to convince French football's financial watchdog, known as the DNCG.
He therefore now plans to let others take charge of the club's appeal against their relegation, which was announced last Tuesday.
"I am going to pull back from this process. We have some people, some partners that are going to take the step forward," he told AFP in Philadelphia following Botafogo's 1-0 defeat to Palmeiras in the Club World Cup on Saturday.
"I am an owner. If I had a coach go into a game five times in a row with a bad tactical plan I'd fire him.
"As the majority owner of Eagle Football I am clearly not getting it done at the DNCG so we are going to put some different faces in play, and we are going to work very constructively with the DNCG."
Textor has just agreed a deal to sell his 43 percent stake in English Premier League club Crystal Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
The BBC reported that Johnson, a former US ambassador to the United Kingdom, would pay £190 million (US$255 million) for the shares.
Textor, who bought Lyon in late 2022, believes that money can be reinjected into the seven-time French champions to help their case.
Explaining his decision to step back from Lyon, Textor said he felt his "weird" ideas were being misunderstood.
"I am the capitalist that shows up with a bunch of weird creative ideas and I don't understand why they are not understood there, and that is hurting the club," he said.
"So I know we are going to put some more capital into the equation, we are going to argue for the case we already made, we are going to do it respectfully."
Lyon announced on Friday that they had reached an agreement with European football's governing body UEFA to enable them to play in next season's Europa League, provided an appeal against their relegation succeeds.
"There is no solvency or sustainability issue with us – we just cleared the UEFA financial sustainability review," Textor added.
"I am very proud of our on-pitch success. We had a relegation squad when I took it over...We took care of the banks, we stabilised the club, we got them back into Europe, and then administratively we get sent down.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sinar Daily
21 minutes ago
- Sinar Daily
Pacquiao 'hungry' for comeback after four-year layoff
The 46-year-old Filipino boxing icon faces World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Barrios in Las Vegas on July 19, four years after his last fight ended in defeat. 29 Jun 2025 12:01pm Manny Pacquiao trains at Wild Card Boxing Club on June 25, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/GETTY IMAGESvia AFP) LOS ANGELES - Manny Pacquiao said that his lengthy layoff from boxing has reignited his passion for the sport as he prepares for next month's world welterweight title comeback against Mario Barrios. The 46-year-old Filipino boxing icon faces World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Barrios in Las Vegas on July 19, four years after his last fight ended in defeat. Manny Pacquiao is interviewed by media at Wild Card Boxing Club on June 25, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Melina Pizano/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) Pacquiao has reunited with long-time veteran trainer Freddie Roach for next month's title tilt, and spoke to journalists on Wednesday as he worked out at the Hall of Famer's Wild Card gym in Hollywood. "Four years rest has been good for me," Pacquiao said after showing off some impressive hand speed in an open pads session. "I've been in boxing for so many decades, so it's good for my body to rest for four years. "Now I'm back, I'm hungry to fight again. I'm hungry to fight in a big fight like this. To work hard, have discipline, everything like that." "I've missed boxing. I feel like the passion, the fire in my eyes, working hard -- it's still there." Pacquiao said while his recovery times were now slightly longer, he had not noticed any drop off in his physical conditioning. "I'm fast, I can move like I did before. I can run in the mountains with the young boxers, so I'm happy," he said. "I'm enjoying this training camp. There's a couple of adjustments for bodily recovery. We have to control the body, give my body time to rest and recover." Pacquiao, who won 12 world titles in eight different weight classes during a glittering professional career that began in 1995, refused to be drawn on whether his comeback next month would be "one and done" or just the first step of a full-fledged return to the sport. "It's hard to say," he said when asked about future bouts. "Now I'm back so one at a time, after this fight we can plan whatever we want." For some in boxing, however, Pacquiao's return to the ring represents an unnecessary risk. British promoter Eddie Hearn was the latest to cast doubt on the wisdom of the Filipino's comeback earlier this month, predicting that the 30-year-old Barrios will be "too young and too strong" for Pacquiao. Pacquiao smiled on Wednesday when asked for his response to Hearn's remarks. "Just watch on July 19th," he said. "It will be a good fight." - AFP More Like This
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Trump metal tariffs wreaking havoc on US factory
BELCAMP, US: In the sweltering US summer, metal containers decorated with snowmen and sleighs are taking shape – but tempers are also rising as their manufacturer grapples with President Donald Trump's steep steel tariffs. At Independent Can's factory in Belcamp, Maryland, northeast of Baltimore, CEO Rick Huether recounts how he started working at his family's business at age 14. Huether, now 73, says he is determined to keep his manufacturing company afloat for generations to come. But Trump's tariffs are complicating this task. "We're living in chaos right now," he told AFP. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and aluminium and then doubled the rate to 50 per cent. This has weighed on operations at Independent Can, and Huether expects he eventually will have to raise prices. With the steady beat of presses, steel plates that have been coated with tin – to prevent corrosion – are turned into containers for cookies, dried fruit, coffee and milk powder at Huether's factory. But there is not enough of such American-made tinplate for companies like his. "In the United States, we can only make about 25 per cent of the tinplate that's required to do what we do," in addition to what other manufacturers need, Huether said. "Those all require us to buy in the neighbourhood of 70 per cent of our steel outside of the United States," he added. While Huether is a proponent of growing the US manufacturing base, saying globalisation has "gone almost a little bit too far," he expressed concern about Trump's methods. Trump has announced a stream of major tariffs only to later back off parts of them or postpone them, and also imposed duties on items the country does not produce. For now, Independent Can – which employs nearly 400 people at four sites – is ruling out any layoffs despite the current upheaval. But Huether said one of the company's plants in Iowa closed last year in part because of a previous increase in steel tariffs, during Trump's first presidential term. With steel tariffs at 50 per cent now, Huether expects he will ultimately have to raise his prices by more than 20 per cent, given that tinplate represents a part of his production costs. Some buyers have already reduced their orders this year by 20 to 25 per cent, over worries about the economy and about not having enough business themselves. Others now seem more inclined to buy American, but Huether expressed reservations over how long this trend might last, citing his experiences from the Covid-19 crisis. "During the pandemic, we took everybody in. As China shut down and the ports were locked up, our business went up 50 per cent," he explained. But when the pandemic was over, customers turned back to purchasing from China, he said. "Today if people want to come to us, we'll take them in," he said, but added: "We need to have a two-year contract." Huether wants to believe that his company, which is almost a century old after being founded during the Great Depression, will weather the latest disruptions.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Trump metal tariffs wreak havoc on US factory
BELCAMP, US: In the sweltering US summer, metal containers decorated with snowmen and sleighs are taking shape – but tempers are also rising as their manufacturer grapples with President Donald Trump's steep steel tariffs. At Independent Can's factory in Belcamp, Maryland, northeast of Baltimore, CEO Rick Huether recounts how he started working at his family's business at age 14. Huether, now 73, says he is determined to keep his manufacturing company afloat for generations to come. But Trump's tariffs are complicating this task. "We're living in chaos right now," he told AFP. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and aluminium and then doubled the rate to 50 per cent. This has weighed on operations at Independent Can, and Huether expects he eventually will have to raise prices. With the steady beat of presses, steel plates that have been coated with tin – to prevent corrosion – are turned into containers for cookies, dried fruit, coffee and milk powder at Huether's factory. But there is not enough of such American-made tinplate for companies like his. "In the United States, we can only make about 25 per cent of the tinplate that's required to do what we do," in addition to what other manufacturers need, Huether said. "Those all require us to buy in the neighbourhood of 70 per cent of our steel outside of the United States," he added. While Huether is a proponent of growing the US manufacturing base, saying globalisation has "gone almost a little bit too far," he expressed concern about Trump's methods. Trump has announced a stream of major tariffs only to later back off parts of them or postpone them, and also imposed duties on items the country does not produce. For now, Independent Can – which employs nearly 400 people at four sites – is ruling out any layoffs despite the current upheaval. But Huether said one of the company's plants in Iowa closed last year in part because of a previous increase in steel tariffs, during Trump's first presidential term. With steel tariffs at 50 per cent now, Huether expects he will ultimately have to raise his prices by more than 20 per cent, given that tinplate represents a part of his production costs. Some buyers have already reduced their orders this year by 20 to 25 per cent, over worries about the economy and about not having enough business themselves. Others now seem more inclined to buy American, but Huether expressed reservations over how long this trend might last, citing his experiences from the Covid-19 crisis. "During the pandemic, we took everybody in. As China shut down and the ports were locked up, our business went up 50 per cent," he explained. But when the pandemic was over, customers turned back to purchasing from China, he said. "Today if people want to come to us, we'll take them in," he said, but added: "We need to have a two-year contract." Huether wants to believe that his company, which is almost a century old after being founded during the Great Depression, will weather the latest disruptions.
