Trouble ahead for Lyon! Strange financial records show club paid 54 players last season despite 30-man squad as new directors discover John Textor's creative bookkeeping to help Botafogo

Lyon were provisionally relegated to Ligue 2 by French football's financial watchdog, the DNCG last month and are preparing for the crucial appeal hearing this Thursday. Lyon's new managers are uncovering the extent of their predecessor's alarming financial mismanagement. Since Textor stepped down as club president, Michele Kang and Michael Gerlinger have been deeply examining the accounts and practices of the previous ownership, and their findings are far from reassuring.

Initial internal audits by Lyon's new bosses have revealed significant inconsistencies behind the club's financial figures. The French club are contesting the DNCG's sanction and await the final verdict on their appeal, but the situation could worsen. According to L'Equipe, auditors found that Lyon officially paid around 54 players this season. This figure is astonishing, considering that coaches Pierre Sage and Paulo Fonseca never managed a squad larger than 30 players.

This anomaly points to an intriguing connection with Botafogo, another club under the ownership of Eagle Football Group, whose recent Copa Libertadores success may have come at Lyon's financial expense.

Several factors indicate that financial manoeuvres might have enabled Botafogo to leverage Lyon resources. L'Equipe states "accounting tricks" allegedly allowed Botafogo to fund new signings. It is also claimed that the Brazilian club are late in presenting their accounts for last year and the delay is fuelling suspicion. There are concerns over regarding the €92 million worth of economic rights of three players - Igor Jesus, Jair and Luiz Henrique - which were allegedly paid for by Lyon.

Factoring, a financial practice that allows companies to obtain quick cash by selling their receivables, is also suspected of being used by Lyon. This potential use of factoring would likely represent a significant loss and further intensify doubts about the previous management of the club's finances.

With only a few days left before the critical meeting with the DNCG, Lyon's immediate priority is to convince the financial authorities to overturn the relegation and allow the club to remain in Ligue 1. For the time being, the current management is choosing to avoid a direct confrontation with former president Textor. The settling of scores will undoubtedly come later. For now, the club is solely focused on its immediate survival in the top flight.