Lyon handed 'provisional' relegation from Ligue 1 and given transfer ban

One of France’s biggest clubs have been provisionally relegated according to reports.

French giants Lyon have been handed a ‘provisional’ relegation from Ligue 1 and a transfer ban.

Reports from journalist Fabrizio Romano suggest that the club have been handed a ‘provisional’ relegation to Ligue 2, the second-tier of French football.

Lyon’s debt has risen to over €500m. Relegation will only occur at the end of the season if Lyon’s finances are not in order by then according to GiveMeSport’s Ben Jacobs.

Poor results on the pitch and overinflated wages off it are thought to have been part of the reason for the problems.

With L’Equipe also previously reporting how the club’s economic model is based on recurrent qualification to the Champions League.

Get French Football News explained how wages will be under supervision from the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG).

It is thought that the club will need to sell several key players to try and balance the books. However, this still may not enough to resolve the issue.

John Textor of the Eagle Football Group, who also owns a 45% stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace, holds a 87.7% share in the France-based club.

Early this week, French outlet L’Equipe reported that the club were to appear before the financial watchdog DNCG on Friday 15 November.

The report appeared to explain how concerns were raised about the club’s current financial situation.

Lyon have been provsionally relegated from the French top-flight (Credit:Getty)
Lyon have been provsionally relegated from the French top-flight (Credit:Getty)

The seven-time Ligue 1 champions currently sit fifth in the French top-flight.

Fellow French club Bordeaux experienced a similar situation when they were administratively relegated to the Championnat National (fourth-tier) at the end of the 2023/24 season.

Textor spoke about the financial situation in August.

“We do not have sales targets, and we are not required to sell 100 million euros of players as there may be other ways to bring in revenues to maintain financial sustainability,” he told Reuters.

Textor was previously linked with buying Everton but no such deal materialised with The Friedkin Group now undergoing checks ahead of their proposed takeover of the Merseyside club.

Despite their financial difficulties, the club still spent around £150m on transfer in the summer of 2024 with former Palace and Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha joining on loan from Galatasaray.

Ex-Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette is also a key man in the team but it is the club’s younger players who could be forced to move.

Several players including Rayan Cherki, Ernest Nuameh, Maxence Caqueret and Malick Fofana have all been linked with a transfer to Premier League clubs over the past few years, while Gift Orban and Georges Mikautadze are both highly-touted and likely to be worth a hefty transfer fee if the club did decide to sell the forwards.