Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon), of French soccer’s top-tier Ligue 1, posted record revenue of €368.3 million ($399 million) for the 2023-24 financial year, largely due to the sale of its OL Feminin women’s team and increased events at the Groupama Stadium.
The figure, which covers the 12 months to June 30, 2024, is up 27% from the €289.7 million the club generated in the previous year and sees Lyon buck the trend of financial turmoil in French soccer.
Lyon owner John Textor’s Eagle Football Group sold a majority stake in OL Feminin to Michelle Kang, who also owns the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, to concentrate funds on the men’s side. That deal was valued at €26.9 million.
Textor also recently concluded a sale of the Seattle Reign NWSL team to a consortium including the owners of the Seattle Sounders men’s team, and global investment firm Carlyle for around $58 million.
Last month (June), Eagle Football Group additionally sold the LDLC Arena, the new multi-purpose indoor venue, to Holnest, a company owned by former Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas, for €70 million.
Overall, the club secured €54.3 million from what it terms as brand-related revenue for the period.
As well as the multiple sales, Lyon secured significant income from events at Groupama Stadium over the past year, including five Rugby World Cup matches, and games involving the men’s and women’s national soccer and rugby union sides.
The club generated €43.5 million from events, up €26.8 million (162%) from the prior year.
The biggest revenue driver for the club was media and marketing rights, which came in at €95.3 million, up €10 million (12%).
This included the third and final €50 million installment from private equity group CVC’s acquisition of a stake in the LFP French league body’s new commercial subsidiary.
Lyon brought in €36.6 million from sponsorships, a drop of €2.3 million (6%) which the club said was affected by its sixth-place finish in Ligue 1 last season and the “termination of contracts with certain partners experiencing financial difficulties.”
Ticketing revenue was down by 10% to €33.9 million.
Despite a largely difficult season, Lyon managed to end the campaign strongly and secured a spot in next season’s UEFA Europa League, Europe’s secondary club competition.
Much to the relief of Ligue 1 clubs, the LFP recently agreed domestic media rights deals with global streaming service DAZN and international pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports after a protracted process.
DAZN will pay €400 million per season for eight out of the nine games in each round under a deal running through the 2028-29 season, while BeIN will pay €100 million for one top game every week.
This will bring in much-needed funds to top-flight French clubs, with as many as eight clubs thought to have been at risk of going bankrupt if the league had failed to negotiate a new broadcast deal.
Several Ligue 1 sides are still suffering financially from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the termination of the media rights agreement with Spanish agency Mediapro.
The wider financial struggles of French clubs was highlighted last week by Bordeaux’s forced relegation to the third tier by the country’s DNCG financial monitoring body due to its imperiled financial state and inability to find a buyer.
Fenway Sports Group, the multi-sport investment group that owns iconic English Premier League side Liverpool, pulled out of a deal to acquire the fallen French giants due to “the significant cost of the stadium in the years to come, but also by the general economic context of French soccer.”
Bordeaux, six-time winners of Ligue 1, informed the French Football Federation that it would be giving up its professional club status after being relegated to the third division.
