Michèle Kang wants to cap all wages at € 200,000 per month. Several OL executives are directly threatened.
OL avoided the worst. After weeks of uncertainty, the DNCG appeal commission maintained the club in Ligue 1, dismissing the spectrum from an administrative demotion. But if the immediate threat is lifted, the Gones are not taken from the business.
According to Progress, Michèle Kang would have decided to hit hard to avoid new slippages: caps all wages at € 200,000 gross monthly. A measure which, if it is confirmed, would upset the hierarchy of the cloakroom and would push several executives towards the exit.
Seven OL players above the threshold
Because behind this maintenance snatched, financial reality remains worrying. The payroll reached € 99.2 million in mid-season 2024-2025, or 84 % of the club's income. An explosive ratio compared to the standards of Jean-Michel Aulas, which never wanted to exceed 50 %. The losses accumulate: € 17 million over six months, after already -25 M € for the previous year. To avoid a new passage in front of the DNCG, Lyon must imperatively reduce its charges.
According to what reports The teamat least seven players go far beyond the planned limit. Corentin Tolisso points at 450 K €/month, Nemanja Matic at 400 K €, Jordan Veretout and Moussa Niakhate at 300 K €. Georges Mikautadze (280 k €), Ernest Nuamah and Thiago Almada (250 k €) complete this list. Difficult to imagine that these players agree to divide their salary by two. Departures seem inevitable.
Explosive salary mass: OL ready to sacrifice its executives
Accounts always in red
OL has two options: liquidate 4 to 5 large wages quickly, or negotiate loans with partial care. Some even mention contract terminations. Expected short -term, but necessary to clean up finances. Internally, we cite the example of Brest: € 24 million of payroll in 2023-2024 for a qualification in the Champions League. The proof that we can succeed without breaking the bank.
The market closes on September 2 and there is therefore less than two months to be in the nails. Ares, the creditor fund, monitors each expense. No question of reproducing the errors of the past. OL has saved its place in L1, but the room for maneuver remains thin. A new skid could be fatal.
