French giants Lyon relegated to Ligue 2 over financial issues

Lyon have been demoted to Ligue 2 ahead of the 2025-26 season as a review confirmed their administrative relegation.

Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion (DNCG, the body responsible for overseeing the finances of French football clubs) confirmed via the Ligue de Football Professionnel (French football’s governing body) that Lyon would be relegated but no action would be taken against Monaco, Nantes and Paris FC.

Lyon will have the chance to appeal the decision.

In November, the DNCG handed Lyon a provisional administrative relegation to Ligue 2, the second division of French football, and would observe a transfer ban in January following an audit of their finances.

That relegation was provisionally based on Lyon, who won seven Ligue 1 titles between 2001-02 and 2007-08, failing to satisfactorily improve their financial situation before the end of the season — which officially concludes on June 30.

John Textor, whose Eagle Football Group owns a 77 per cent stake in Lyon, said in November there was “no chance” the club would be relegated.

Montpellier, St-Etienne and Reims were all relegated from Ligue 1 in 2024-25, with Lorient, Paris FC and Metz promoted to the top flight.

Textor has agreed a deal to sell Eagle Football’s 43 per cent stake in Crystal Palace to Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets. The sale will have to be ratified by the Premier League, with Johnson being the subject of the league’s owners’ and directors’ test, a process which typically takes around two months.

The DNCG determined in July 2024 that Bordeaux be relegated two divisions to the fourth tier, losing their professional status, due to their financial situation. The previous year, Sochaux were administratively relegated to the third tier.

Textor, 59, also owns controlling stakes in Brazilian club Botafogo and RWD Molenbeek of Belgium.

Nancy successfully appealed against the DNCG’s decision to relegate the club two divisions to the fifth tier in 2023.