Jean-Michel Aulas Leaves Lyon After 36 years : This Monday morning, Olympique Lyonnais (OL) announced, via a press release, the end of the presidency of Jean-Michel Aulas. Arrived at the club more than 30 years ago, he leaves with an imprint and an enormous history.
More than a page that turns, it is a history book of Olympique Lyonnais that is closing. The emblematic president of the football club in the capital of Gaul, Jean-Michel Aulas, has left his place as CEO of OL Groupe.
This departure, first announced by the newspaper L’Equipe on the night of Sunday to Monday, was confirmed Monday, May 8 in the morning by a press release from the Rhone club.
“During its meeting held on May 5, the OL Groupe Board of Directors appointed John Textor as Chairman of the Board of Directors (….) following the termination of Mr Jean- Michel Aulas as Chairman and CEO of OL Groupe”, explains the Lyon club in a press release.
This departure of the emblematic president of Lyon comes after the takeover of the Lyon club, in December 2022, by the American John Textor.
“Mr. Textor has also been appointed as general manager of OL Groupe from May 5 for an interim period, the time to identify and appoint a new general manager”, added OL, specifying that Jean -Michel Aulas would be “appointed honorary president”.
How many years did Jean-Michel Aulas remain at the head of OL?
The story of Jean-Michel Aulas with Olympique Lyonnais began in June 1987. The man then took control of the Gones team, which had been playing in Ligue 2 for four years. There followed a longevity of 36 years at OL for Aulas.
With him at its head, OL became a constant fixture in the UEFA Champions League.
The team also won record seven consecutive French championship titles from 2002 to 2008. The Lyonnais also won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2001 and the Coupe de France in 2008 and 2012 under the reign of Jean-Michel Aulas.
Jean-Michel Aulas was to remain executive chairman on a three-year contract after the club was taken over. But disagreements on the sports policy to be pursued quickly appeared with the team of the ambitious American investor, already present in the capital of Crystal Palace (England) and Botafogo (Brazil).
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