Due to financial problems, Lyon’s parent business is thinking about laying off workers

Eagle Football Group (EFG), the owner of Olympique Lyonnais, said on Monday that it will begin talking with employee reps about the possibility of cutting jobs. This comes after a big loss in transfer fees and a drop in domestic media rights revenues.

Eagle Football Holdings (EFH), the parent company of the French Ligue 1 club, is also expected to give EFG working capital of around 40 million euros in the coming weeks. This is in addition to the capital contributions that EFG will receive after selling its share in Crystal Palace and starting the formal IPO process on the New York Stock Exchange.

“During the summer mercato (transfer period), the club had significant opportunities to sell players, but did not achieve its targets, mainly due to the decision of certain players to stay with Olympique Lyonnais,” the group said in a note.

The club also said that the total value of the player contracts sold during the transfer window was about 39 million euros. Since June, more than any other team in France, around 145 million euros have been spent on player purchases and loans.

An article in the French newspaper L’Equipe last month said that Lyon had sold most of their team to raise 75 million euros to balance their budget and meet their sales goals.