Lyon Financial Troubles: 54 Ghost Players on Payroll

Lyon financial troubles burst into full view this week as the club’s new executive team uncovered bewildering pay-slips showing 54 players on the books during the 2023-24 campaign, even though only 30 were officially registered with the first team. The discovery deepens concerns about the accounting practices championed by majority owner John Textor and adds another twist to Olympique Lyonnais’ fight against relegation handed down by French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG.

Lyon financial troubles laid bare by fresh audit

Internal auditors drafted by recently appointed directors Santiago Cucci and Laurent Prud’homme stumbled upon duplicate contracts, back-dated image-rights deals and unorthodox “development bonuses” channelled to players who never trained at Décines. According to preliminary estimates, the phantom wage bill inflated Lyon’s payroll by nearly €11 million—cash the club could scarcely afford while breaching Ligue 1’s salary cap.

How creative bookkeeping crossed the Atlantic

Emails cited in the audit trail reveal that some of those questionable payments quickly re-appeared in the accounts of Botafogo, another club under Textor’s Eagle Football umbrella. The funds allegedly subsidised signing bonuses for Brazilian prospect Jeffinho and winger Luiz Henrique, allowing Botafogo to beat domestic rivals without formally overstretching its own budget. French regulators now suspect that Lyon’s revenue lines were used as a revolving credit facility to prop up the Rio de Janeiro outfit.

The relegation appeal and its stakes

Lyon’s legal team will address the DNCG’s appeals committee on 25 June. Should evidence of inter-club fund transfers hold up, the panel could not only uphold relegation to Ligue 2 but also impose additional fines or even a competitive embargo similar to UEFA’s recent penalties for multi-club ownership conflicts. The Lyon board argues that the irregularities were historical, pre-dating the new directors, and insists current cash flow projections meet all regulatory thresholds once “non-recurring” items are stripped away.

Historical context: a club dancing on the red line

This is not the first brush Lyon have had with financial censure. In 2020 the club narrowly avoided sanctions after over-estimating Champions League gate receipts during the pandemic. Long-time president Jean-Michel Aulas traditionally balanced budgets through player trading, but successive missed qualifications for Europe shrank that revenue stream. Textor’s takeover promised fresh capital; instead, auditors say leverage rose from €331 million to €420 million within 18 months.

Governance gaps enable Lyon financial troubles

Experts point to lax oversight inside Eagle Football’s sprawling structure. With Lyon, Botafogo, RWD Molenbeek and Crystal Palace shares all residing in the same orbit, loan deals and inter-company charges demand meticulous segregation. “It is easy for cash to slosh around when boards share executives,” explains sports financier Claire Gauthier. “Without watertight Chinese walls, even well-intentioned moves can breach national regulations.”

Potential fallout for Botafogo and Eagle Football

Brazil’s CBF and FIFA could intervene if the probe shows Botafogo benefited from hidden subsidies, a violation of both domestic fair-play rules and FIFA’s third-party influence statutes. In Europe, UEFA’s new multi-club ownership guidelines may tighten further, forcing Textor to reduce stakes or install independent governance layers.

Locker-room mood and sporting implications

Inside Groupama Stadium, uncertainty reigns. Captain Alexandre Lacazette, whose contract is one of those deemed “standard,” admitted players were “shocked” by rumours of duplicate salaries. Coach Pierre Sage must prepare pre-season plans without knowing which division the team will play in. Relegation would trigger release clauses for several internationals and likely force a fire-sale of academy talent.

Opinion: hard lessons for modern multi-club models

Creative financial engineering can offer short-term flexibility, but Lyon’s saga underlines the perils when transparency lags behind ambition. Eagle Football has an opportunity to set a benchmark for clarity across its portfolio—yet the first step is accepting that Ligue 1’s giants cannot be run like balance-sheet widgets. Supporters deserve clean books as much as clean sheets.