Lyon owner Textor to take step back from running club after relegation to Ligue 2
John Textor pictured attending the Club World Cup game between Botafogo and Palmeiras in Philadelphia on Saturday (JUAN MABROMATA)
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.
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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.
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"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 ($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.
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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.
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"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.
"It's a pretty odd world for me."
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