The OL will not play in the league phase of the Champions League this season. Beaten 2-1 by Fenerbahçe in the second leg of the play-off, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the Lyon club is missing out on revenue of around 23 million euros linked to its participation in the competition.
After the match, Paulo Fonseca acknowledged that this elimination could have consequences for his squad. He believes the Champions League would have given the club more resources to keep hold of its players.
Maybe now we need to sell. That's the reality.
Fofana at the heart of the questions
Matthieu Louis-Jean, Lyon's sporting director, was more cautious, while acknowledging that changes could occur before the transfer window closes.
The market will dictate what we can do, and we'll adapt accordingly.
The Malick Fofana case could in particular become central. OL wanted to keep hold of its winger, but the European elimination reduces its room for manoeuvre and could push the club to consider certain offers.
An already heavy financial toll
Lyon has already recorded around 36 million euros in transfer revenue this summer, notably thanks to the departure of Afonso Moreira to Bayer Leverkusen for 29.5 million euros. At the same time, the club has spent around 29.6 million euros on new signings and the paid loan of Luis Openda.
According to estimates reported by RMC Sport, the shortfall could reach around 40 million euros when taking into account the revenue that a Champions League campaign could have generated.
The French transfer window closes on September 1st at 7:59pm: OL therefore has only a few days left to find the new balance for its squad.
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