John Textor sat down once again with RMC Sport, but this was the first occasion not as president of Lyon.
The American businessman stepped aside from his post three months ago after French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG, ratified an administrative relegation from Ligue 1.
He was replaced by women’s team president Michelle Kang who gave better financial guarantees, and OL were reinstated and have since had a decent start to the season.
“I’m only speaking out now, firstly because the club is doing well, and secondly, because I was annoyed to read these articles about phantom transfers,” he said referencing deals with his other club, Botafogo.
“Lyon supporters may be furious with me. Because I was so provocative, so disruptive, I irritated too many people in French football; those are my mistakes. But don’t tell me that the player transfers weren’t good for the club.”
Reflecting on the club’s revoked relegation, he continued: “The spending cuts were so significant in the springs of 2024 and 2025. So when you get to June 30, 2025, you have a 40% reduction in the wage bill, a significant reduction thanks to the work done.
“We presented a viable project to the DNCG in May and June. The fans don’t know about it. All they see is the administrative relegation, and of course they’re angry.
“What I said was that we had enough money to support this model, and that’s the case. On May 20, the DNCG gave us its full approval, saying, ‘John, everything’s fine.’
“The fans can blame me for not being on top form a month later, but you have to look at what happened between May 20 and June 24. On May 20, we got the green light.
“We simply increased all our figures the following month: we added 25 million. With additional cash, we sold Rayan Cherki for 30 million. We arrive on June 24th with even better figures than the previous month.
“We need to ask the DNCG how we can get the green light on May 20th and then be relegated on June 24th.”
Textor finished by saying the real killer for his presidency was the loss of TV rights revenue.
“You don’t care what people think of you when you’re in this business. You have to work, be honest, help. The fact is, we only helped, but it wasn’t enough,” he added.
“We brought in capital to pay off debts. There are limits to what you can do regarding profits and losses in France. Losses will continue for these kinds of clubs; you always need more capital.
“What we haven’t fixed… at the same time, we brought in talent, we reduced expenses, but we faced headwinds. We lost a huge amount of money on TV rights.
“Since I arrived, I’ve increased revenue every year. But the fans don’t know that.”
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