L'EQUIPE REPORTS: HISTORIC AUSTERITY POLICY AT LYON

Olympique Lyonnais, one of the well-established clubs in French Ligue 1, is implementing the harshest financial measures in its history. According to breaking news from the famous French sports newspaper L'Equipe, an economic mobilization has been declared within the club. The Lyon management, which acted quite comfortably financially in past years, has started to apply a radical austerity policy to establish a sustainable structure. The most striking point of these severe measures was experienced in player salaries. The club's annual wage budget, which was around 120 million euros, was slashed by more than half, dropping down to 55 million euros. The cost-cutting operation was not limited to football player salaries; all luxury expenses in the daily operation of the club were canceled one by one. According to the new decisions, club executives are now using public transportation, especially the metro, instead of options like private cars or taxis for their commute. The glamorous signing ceremonies and the practice of allocating private jets to bring in new transfers have been completely shelved. Free shuttle vehicles providing transportation to the stadium for fans on match days have now become paid services, while some prestigious VIP invitations and hospitalities at the stadium have been permanently removed to drastically reduce costs. This harsh but necessary economic transformation of Lyon was met with great surprise and appreciation in the French football public.

IMAGE: FOOT 01