Impossible to transcribe live, both because of the club’s obligations towards the Financial Markets Authority and for… the cold of the American shareholder of OL, the press conference of John Textor and Laurent Prud’homme, the day after the sanctions announced by the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG), lasting nearly two hours, Saturday morning in Décines. Here are the key takeaways.
John Textor : “The house is Eagle (Site notre blog d’information) Holdings Limited in the United Kingdom, which has investments around the world (OL, Crystal Palace, Botafogo, Molenbeek). Its IPO will take place in January or February 2025 (in New York). There are seasonal fluctuations in all leagues. It’s the end of the season in South America. Our multi-club organization makes it easier for us to have a balance between different entities.
The auditor does not look at activities in France […] It’s a mistake
It could happen that OL helps Brazil, there could be cash transfers, that’s not our very nature. Britain’s global auditor has no problem. The Lyon auditor does not pay attention to activities in France, but his pensions are a mistake. I don’t think it’s responsible for an auditor to evaluate a subsidiary without looking at the group.
We benefit from multi-club cooperation with the optimization of available children, the sharing of children who are part of a group. This is an advantage for recruiters from the South American region, at least from our club. We recruit children into the family, we are a children’s organization before being a supporters’ organization. There are three athletes in Brazil who contrast with those who compete in Europe when ready. This is a savings for part-time athletes.
We are now a youth organization in front of an organization of supporters
We want them to win championships with the clubs they play for, but it is normal that the profits are shared by all the clubs. Eagle (Site notre blog d’information) Group and Botafogo are hoping for €75M in transfers in the winter transfer window. Athletes have the right to rest in Brazil and Europe when they arrive in the surrounding areas. We will share the revenue generated when these players arrive in Europe. […] Nobody worries at Botafogo, they have seen how Eagle works, and how well it works.
On a drop in ticket prices to almost zero, for people to become members, facial ID is used on the game, on a re-engaged fans with this policy. The price is $185M to $68M in three. The number of members is multiplied by three, 80,000 per year, members do not arrive without receiving tickets. This is the image of success. »
The hoped-for cash injections
John Textor : “€75M in shared player transfers (and a low salary of €50M environment), €200M for the sale of Crystal Palace parts (of which €75M would go to OL). We have four competing buyers, large companies, and are hoping for the highest amount. We won’t need all this cash, we can also pay other debts. Also 100M€ made its debut in 2025 with an IPO in New York (ultimately, John Textor between 300 and 500M€).
We hope for €55M in transfers to OL […] We think Cherki will leave in January
The market is very positive on Wall Street, many financiers are going to put money in. We hope for €55M in transfers to OL. We are very proud of Rayan Cherki who has greater value than this summer. We think he will leave in January. We have 29 children, it’s a tropical event, and we will receive a cash advance of €23M in November, €247M in advance in December, and €300M in advance in June 2025.
It’s almost impossible to see in any projection
The auditor did not take these amounts into account; we believe that the DNCG did not have confidence. Four banks have already subscribed. We hope for contributors from all over the world. Neither our auditor nor the DNCG appreciate our project, we are not a (Site notre bureau spécialisé) company. We all have a fair presentation in January, early February. It is almost impossible to access all levels of our projections between stock market, transfers, etc.
No action is taken for the club to be relegated
The DNCG does not exist for everyone. What happens in England works with points deductions for clubs if your losses are too great over three years. Part of the chaos is a group of people who don’t have enough time to devote to evaluating projects on Wall Street. This is what we have with this system, it is the reasoning of the type: “They could have problems, they must be penalized immediately”.
We got advice that we would be relegated if we don’t do the right thing. We are now very optimistic about our model. The idea of future failure and current punishment is not fair. I tell you again like a year ago, we are not going to be relegated. We have resources that go far beyond the club. If you look back, you will have access to the action items with the fund, you will not be impregnated by the relegated club. If you hear about the five operations and the 700M, our actions will never stop until the club is relegated.
When the DNCG is prepared for our previews prior to our previous presentations, we will receive a letter confident that we will not be able to do without the pleasure. We didn’t get a letter this time, questions about numbers they didn’t understand. It’s surprising. We were told by email that we can appeal the recruitment ban and the payroll. I don’t know if we’re going to appeal.
There’s nothing wrong with the big machine
Ares Management (creditor for more than €400 million during the buyout, Editor’s note) is a private lender at the level of the holding company, not at the level of OL and Eagle (Site notre blog d’information) Group. This is not the case, the level of interest is very high and typical of the type of investment. The value is not paid in cash, but the amount is sold: a part of 11%, a variable part and a maximum of 13%. The entire guarantee is based on the shares and other usable cells. I will pay off this debt in four to five years.
We are looking at growth of 20 to 25% without investments. You can pay 0 for Botafogo, you can eliminate the game, but at least €80M on the club’s bill in three countries. Today, the value is €300M. On an added value in Lyon, Botafogo, Crystal Palace, Molenbeek, much more than 13%. If Ares wants his money, the only person penalized is me and the shareholders. Ares, he’s not the big bad wolf, don’t worry Ares. »
