Lyon president John Textor has made a strong statement, committing to retain the club’s key players amid efforts to avert a forced relegation due to financial troubles.
The DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog, has determined that Lyon will face relegation from Ligue 1 at the end of the season unless the club can address its debt exceeding €500 million.
This ruling has led to significant speculation about a potential fire sale of players.
Among those rumoured to be targeted is midfielder Rayan Cherki, one of Lyon’s most valuable assets.
Reports have suggested that Liverpool might attempt to exploit the situation by submitting a cut-price offer for the 21-year-old.
However, Textor has made his stance clear, asserting that Lyon will not part with Cherki at a discount and signalling that the club’s top talents are not available for bargain deals.
“We lost €15m from his potential sale [to Paris Saint-Germain] last summer, but now his value is way higher,” Textor said of Cherki.
“He should stay in January, but it’s up to Rayan, as is always the case in football.”
“We have an excess of superb players,” he added.
“The coach has almost impossible decisions to make. I hate rumours about which players to sell, it all depends on the opportunities, but the certainty is the abundance of players.
“We have 29 players in the first team. Ideally, we want 23 or 24.
“There are six players too many. Some have not left and we wanted to recruit to be stronger in the league.”
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