2023-05-08 16:46:14
In 36 years of presidency, Jean-Michel Aulas, whose departure from OL was made official on Monday May 8, has spoken on many occasions. Whether in interviews, at a press conference or on Twitter, the former president of Olympique Lyonnais never minced his words, never afraid to create controversy. A look back at ten startling statements that helped build the leader’s legend.
“I told Vincent Labrune that it was a puppet”
Relations between Jean-Michel Aulas and the leaders of other clubs have often been stormy. This was particularly the case with Vincent Labrune, president of OM between 2011 and 2016. The two men never hesitated to attack each other with sensational statements, one of which has remained famous.
On September 20, 2015, after the meeting between Marseille and Lyon was interrupted for more than twenty minutes following the throwing of projectiles in the direction of the Lyon leader and ex-Marseillais Mathieu Valbuena, the now ex-president of OL criticized the management of his counterpart: “I told Vincent Labrune that it was a puppet and that it would last less than he imagined in football, because we cannot afford to play with people’s safety . Clowning in the middle of an organization where there are 60,000 people is irresponsible. »
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“In Bordeaux, it was played on next to nothing. All right, his name was Mr. Bré and not three times nothing”
Vincent Labrune was not the only target of JMA, the referees were also victims of his wrath. In April 2009, after the defeat of his Lyonnais in Bordeaux, which takes them away from the title, the president attacked Stéphane Bré, accusing him of having forgotten two penalties. A year later, he again attacked this referee, saying: “Last year, we lost the title to Bordeaux because of a refereeing error by Mr. Bré. This evening, we are penalized by a new fault of this referee. On arrival, it is 20 million difference because of referees who do not know. »
“I can see the satisfaction in your eyes to see us eliminated from the Champions League”
This time it was journalists who were targeted. This was not unusual, as relations between Jean-Michel Aulas and the press were delicate, not to say strained. In November 2002, after OL’s elimination from the Champions League following a draw at Rosenborg, the president accused journalists of rejoicing, claiming to see “the satisfaction in your (their) eyes. »
“You have to qualify for the Champions League because they play it on the PlayStation”
The rivals of Olympique Lyonnais have also taken for their rank. In 2010, after the defeat in the 100th derby against ASSE (0-1), the president took the floor to try to calm the Bad Gones, who were demanding the head of Claude Puel. In the middle of his speech, he uttered a sentence that has remained famous: “For 17 years, we beat the Stéphanois. We lost tonight and we must not lose pride. You have to qualify for the Champions League because they play the Champions League on the PlayStation! The following year, during this same derby, he will receive a PlayStation as a gift from a supporter of the Greens.
“Paris has the oil, we have the ideas”
Since the arrival of the Qataris at Paris Saint-Germain, the Parisian club has become one of the preferred targets of Jean-Michel Aulas. On September 4, 2015, during a meeting in Geneva scheduled to convince Swiss investors to buy boxes in the new Stade des Lumières, he highlighted the club’s turnover and its ambition to return to the heights of Ligue 1, alongside PSG. “We will be able to return to Paris, because we are smarter. Paris has the oil, we have the ideas! “, he had launched.
“It’s good to have a final of the French Championship because Qatar is not part of France”
This ambition did not translate into the results of the following seasons. On April 30, 2016, while PSG pranced in the lead, and would finish champion with a 31-point lead, Monaco and Lyon faced off in a decisive match for second place. The perfect opportunity for Jean-Michel Aulas to send a new attack: “It’s good to have a final of the French Championship because Qatar is not part of France. »
“Nasser or Bertrand Desplats? Choosing between the plague and cholera is difficult”
The president of PSG Nasser Al-Khelaïfi will not escape it either. Invited on the set of a program hosted by Estelle Denis on the L’Équipe channel in January 2018, the OL president participated in a little game of dilemmas. When the question: “Nasser Al-Khelaïfi or Bertrand Desplat (the president of Guingamp with whom he had already hung)? » is posed, he answered, with a smile: “Choosing between the plague and cholera, it’s difficult, isn’t it. Those interested will have appreciated.
“If Essien leaves for Chelsea, my name is no longer Jean-Michel Aulas”
As a good president, Jean-Michel Aulas has never hesitated to hide the truth to protect the interests of his club, especially on the transfer market. At the end of the 2004-2005 season, after the title of his Lyonnais, JMA assured that Michael Essien will not go to Chelsea, ironically: “If Essien goes to Chelsea, my name is no longer Jean-Michel Aulas. “A week later, the midfielder will go to London, against a check for 38 million euros. “I always tell the truth, but never too soon”, he will specify later.
“What is the name of this Welshman from Real Madrid, again? »
Always looking for a good sale, he will try a new strategy with Alexandre Lacazette. In The Parisian, at the beginning of 2015, he spoke of the inestimable value of his striker, comparing him with Gareth Bale, transferred in the summer of 2013 to Real Madrid for 100 million euros. “What is the name of this Welshman from Real Madrid, again? I think Alexander is much better. But Alexander is priceless. The Frenchman will finally leave for Arsenal in 2017, against an estimated sum of 60 million euros.
“We are not a club but an entertainment holding company”
Jean-Michel Aulas was also a ruthless businessman. The first manager to take a club public in February 2017 and to build a private stadium, he managed to mix passion and management. “We are not a football club but an entertainment holding company”, he had also said just after OL Groupe went public, stressing all the same that sport was not a business like a other.
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