Lyon 'provisionally relegated to Ligue 2' as Zaha and Lacazette caught in chaos

Lyon have been handed a provisional Ligue 2 relegation due to their financial situation. The French Financial Football Watchdog met with club owner John Textor this week, and despite the American assuring fans that talks went well, the club have been handed a severe penalty.

The seven-time Ligue 1 champions have also been given a transfer ban and are now under supervision of their wages.

It follows reports their debts have risen to around £425million.

The side now have until the end of the 2024/25 campaign to address their finances, and face having to sell their marquee players in order to avoid demotion.

Under-21 internationals Rayan Cherki and Malick Fofana had both been tipped for big futures at the club, but are now likely to be sold on cut-price deals in January.

Textor completed his purchase of the club in December 2022. Five months later, he replaced Jean-Michael Aulas as chairman and CEO of OL Groupe, making him the new club president.

Aulas had previously served in the role for 36 years. During that period, Lyon claimed over 50 major titles between their men's and women's teams.

Howver, the club are now counting the cost of racking up huge net losses in recent years. Paying big fees and wages, as well as fluctuating media revenues, have been blamed for their problems.

And the future is now unclear for two former stars. Despite helping to the Super Lig title in 2023/24 following his move from , Wilfried Zaha joined the French club on loan this summer.

He's managed just five appearances this season now, and could be sent back to Turkey in a bid to cut costs. And Alexander Lacazette could also now be offloaded despite his iconic status in Lyon.

The 33-year-old spent eight seasons with them before leaving for in 2017. He returned to Les Gones three years ago, and has a total of 187 goals in 363 game for the club.

Lyon are currently fifth in Ligue 1, with 18 points from their 11 games so far. In the Europa League, Pierre Sage's team have seven points from four matches.