Lyon
Ligue 1 Clubs in Financial Crisis After Collapse of TV Deal
A number of Ligue 1 clubs have been left on the brink of financial ruin, following the collapse of a lucrative TV contract. In 2018, the LFP – French football’s governing body – sold the broadcasting rights to Mediapro and BeIN Sports, in a deal worth upwards of €1.15bn per year – the second biggest TV deal in Europe. This saw a drastic 60% increase in TV revenue for Ligue 1 sides. Mediapro’s Ligue 1 gamble has not paid off It was hoped that this would revitalise the French leagues, given that they have had no success on the European stage since Marseille’s Champions League triumph in 1993. However, the TV deal has fallen apart, leaving French football at risk of a financial collapse. Spanish broadcaster Mediapro, who were supposed to be paying €814m per year for the broadcasting...
Report: Hammers handed boost as they can sign £20m Brazilian for free in July
According to The Sun, West Ham United have been handed a potential transfer boost as they can sign Lyon centre-back Marcelo for free next summer. The Hammers were close to landing him for £20 million last January as he was keen to leave the French side for the Premier League, but the deal fell through. Marcelo has just seven months left on his current deal at Lyon and isn’t close to signing a new deal as things stand. The 33-year-old will most likely leave as a free agent at the end of 2020-21, and that would give West Ham the opportunity to land him for nothing. Hammers boss David Moyes wanted to bolster his centre-back options in the January transfer window, and the club were strongly linked with Burnley’s James Tarkowski. However, they were priced out of a move and they couldn’t agree a...
PSG confirm Neymar’s ankle injury
Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain say an initial assessment of key forward Neymar’s ankle injury has been “reassuring”. The Brazilian striker was stretched off in Sunday’s loss to Olympique Lyonnais, with the Paris side saying on Monday that he had sprained his left ankle, adding that further examinations will be carried out in the next 48 hours. In the extra time of the tie, the 28-year-old went down screaming in agony and clutching his ankle after a poor challenge from Lyon midfielder Thiago Mendes, who was thereafter sent off with a straight red. “The medical examinations carried out on Neymar are reassuring following his twisted ankle in Sunday’s game against Lyon,” PSG said. The club, and Neymar in particular, will hope the damage is not too deleterious and does not rule him out of t...
NASS bye-election: APC’s David Lyon calls for peace, hails INEC
The South-South representative at the National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief David Lyon, has sued for peace over the outcome of the Bayelsa Central bye-election held on Saturday. Lyon, who commended the people for the peaceful conduct of the election, expressed satisfaction with the improvements by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in distributing sensitive and non-sensitive materials across the difficult creeks of his constituency. He called for unity among the people of the State, pointing out that elections provide the opportunity for people to freely choose their own candidate and equally afford the candidate the opportunity to canvas eligible votes in a free and fair manner. Lyon condemned situatio...
UEFA Announce Team of the Year Nominees
UEFA have revealed the nominees for the 2020 fans’ Team of the Year. The 50-man list is comprised of five goalkeepers, 15 defenders, 15 midfielders, and 15 forwards. Rather unsurprisingly, treble winners Bayern Munich are the most heavily represented side in the nominations, boasting ten candidates. Bayern completed the treble with a win over PSG in August Runaway Premier League champions Liverpool and Champions League finalists Paris Saint Germain also hold a high percentage of the nominees, possessing eight candidates each. It was a disappointing turn out from the La Liga giants, as Real Madrid and Barcelona only managed one nominee each, while Atletico Madrid had just two. Germany were the most represented nation with six, with France one behind. Argentina, Portugal, England, Brazil, Sp...
Report: Arsenal’s chances of signing young midfielder improve after discipline issue
Houssem Aouar is set to miss this weekend’s match after refusing to participate in the post-match warm down against Angers. Aouar was an unused substitute in Sunday’s fixture, as his side came away 1-0 winners thanks to Tinotenda Kadewere’s late strike. Despite not featuring, the midfielder was expected to complete a 30 minute warm down in order to keep his fitness up. He refused, citing the state of the pitch as his reason not to. Aouar hasn’t played since the win against Saint Etienne In response, the Lyon hierarchy have decided to exclude Aouar from the squad to face Reims on Sunday, according to l’Equipe. The Frenchman’s fitness has been a concern for a few weeks. He did not feature on international duty due to adductor problems, and only returned to training with Lyon on Friday. In fa...
Cristiano Ronaldo to make Portugal return against France, Croatia
Cristiano Ronaldo was on Thursday named in the Portugal squad to play a friendly against Andorra and Nations League matches against France and Croatia. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner tested positive for coronavirus on October 13 when with the Portugal squad, going on to miss the 3-0 victory over Sweden. The 35-year-old finally tested negative 19 days later, returning to the pitch with a double for Juventus against Spezia in Serie A action on Sunday. The Portugal captain also played in Juve’s 4-1 victory over Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Wednesday. Reigning European champions Portugal take on Andorra on Wednesday before Nations League A3 matches at home against France on November 14 and away to Croatia three days later. The main absentee from Fernando Santos’ 25-man squad is Pep...
Kylian Mbappe on target as PSG win without injured Neymar
Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot as Paris Saint-Germain eased to their seventh straight Ligue 1 win on Saturday, beating Nantes 3-0 away to move provisionally three points clear at the top of the table. All the goals came in the second half at the Stade de la Beaujoire, with Ander Herrera opening the scoring two minutes after the restart and Mbappe converting a 65th-minute spot-kick before Pablo Sarabia secured the points late on. PSG have now taken maximum points since starting the season with back-to-back defeats and the reigning champions are three clear of Lille and Rennes at the summit. Lille, who are unbeaten, can rejoin the club from the capital at the top if they beat Lyon on Sunday. Rennes beat Brest 2-1 on Saturday. “I am very happy. We made lots of changes because we f...
Lyon set deadline for Memphis Depay’s departure
Olympique Lyonnais have set Barcelona an ultimatum on signing their forward Memphis Depay this transfer window, as per Diario AS. The report cites how Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has told French media outlet Telefoot: “I think I will tell the players that all those who did not leave on Friday will remain at Lyon. As of Friday there will be no more departures.” It is reported how he is referencing both Memphis and midfielder Houssem Aouar – who has been linked with a switch to Arsenal. The Blaugrana are keen on a move for Memphis but it remains unlikely that they will be able to finance a deal, despite clearing Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez from their wage bill. Memphis, 26, netted 11 goals across his last 18 matches for the Dutch national side and has also developed into ...
Barcelona prepare final offer to land Lautaro Martinez from Inter
Barcelona are preparing a final offer for Lautaro Martinez, with the beleaguered Blaugrana ready to test Inter’s resolve as they prepare for life without Luis Suarez at the head of their attack. New boss Ronald Koeman recently made it clear to the Uruguayan, despite him being close friends with wantaway Lionel Messi, that he would no longer be a key player for the Catalans and should attempt to find a new club. And although Lyon attacker Memphis Depay has been mooted as a potential successor due to his ties with Koeman, Goal reports that Lautaro remains at the top Barca’s wishlist, with the Argentine seen as a complete centre-forward in the precise mould the club are looking for. There are many complications in the way, however, the most notable of which being the fact that Suarez still ha...
Report: Everton plotting for £36m Barcelona target who scored 15 goals last season
Everton are reportedly interested in signing former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay this summer, according to reports from The Sun. The 26-year-old has taken his game to a whole new level since moving to Lyon from Manchester United in 2017. The Dutchman was integral in Lyon’s charge to last season’s Champions League semi-final and he is being chased by Everton and Barcelona. The 26-year-old scored 15 goals and provided two assists from 22 games for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions last season. He has started the new season with a bang, netting a hat-trick in Lyon’s 4-1 thrashing of Dijon yesterday. However, the winger has said that he is not sure whether he will complete the season with the Ligue 1 side. Depay said, as quoted by The Sun: “I do not see the future, ...
UEFA supremo backs continuation of one-legged Champions League knock-out rounds
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has stated his belief that the current one-legged knock-out format of the Champions League’s quarterfinals and semi-finals should be considered as a full-time fixture in the competition as it is, in his opinion, “more interesting”. The one-off format, put together in order to finish up the season in a timely manner following the coronavirus-enforced suspension of sport around the world, has produced several upsets already, most notably Manchester City and Atletico Madrid being dumped out by Lyon and RB Leipzig respectively. Eight teams headed for Lisbon in August to play out the remaining fixtures on neutral ground in order to avoid squabbles over home and away advantages, and Ceferin believes having only one game to make it through makes for more exciting...
