Fonseca leaves Lyon mid-season: Aulas calls direction 'disappointing and concerning'

Paulo Fonseca left Olympique Lyonnais mid-season to join Sporting CP, his boyhood club, leaving the Lyon board facing a fait accompli. The club made no attempt to retain him at all costs and accepted a €5 million compensation to release its manager.

Jean-Michel Aulas, who presided over Lyon for more than 35 years before handing over to John Textor in May 2023, does not mince words. “When I see today the Lyon manager who is doing rather well, who leaves from one day to the next, and the Lyon presidents and executives accept his departure for a handful of figs or cherries, I tell myself that things have really changed,” he told L’Équipe. “It’s something that troubles me, because it troubles all the supporters who love their club.”

Aulas says he is “really very worried” about what comes next. He fears that this hasty departure could undermine the collective momentum built by Fonseca while Lyon sits in the Ligue 1 title race and remains in contention for Europa League qualification. “This is not the right time for the manager to leave,” he states bluntly, adding that he has “the impression that we haven’t even gone as far as Lyon’s financial interest. If Sporting really needed Fonseca, I think the amounts would probably have been higher.”

The former executive insists he would not have accepted this scenario. “I, in principle, would not have let him leave. I would first have taken an uncompromising position, which is on the principle of not accepting this kind of thing, because it sets a precedent. If it’s possible one day with one person, it can be possible another day with another.” A direct warning to the current board at a crucial moment in Lyon’s season.