Lyon owners announce heavy losses

OL Group, the company that runs Olympique Lyonnais Football Club, on Tuesday announced heavy losses for the 2009-10 season, due largely to high expenditure on new players.

In the financial period leading up to June 30, 2010, the group recorded net losses of 35.6 million euros, having enjoyed profits of 5.3 million euros in the previous year.

Revenue also fell by 16.6 percent to 160 million euros, according to a statement released by the club.

Lyon attributed the figures to a “sluggish trading market that failed to allow gains to be made on the termination of the contracts of important players”.

In the summer of 2009, Lyon sold French international striker Karim Benzema to Real Madrid for a fee of 35 million euros, but the period since then has been characterised by high-value acquisitions rather than sales.

The seven-time French champions spent 95.8 million euros on Lisandro Lopez, Michel Bastos, Aly Cissokho and Bafetimbi Gomis in the summer of 2009, before acquiring Dejan Lovren last January and Jimmy Briand in June.

“As of August 31, 2010, after the arrival of Yoann Gourcuff (for 22 million euros from Bordeaux), the professional squad comprises 26 international players, with an average age of 24,” said the club, who value their squad at 207.7 million euros.