Lille's football club new CEO Olivier Letang speaks during a press conference at the club's training camp "Le domaine de Luchin" in Camphin-en-Pevele, near Lille, on December 21, 2020. - Letang, a 48-year-old former sporting director at Paris Saint-Germain and president of Rennes, has been appointed by the club's new owners Callisto, a subsidiary of the Merlyn Partners investment fund. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP via Getty Images)
The deal, which was finalised late last week, sees the cash-strapped Ligue 1 leaders offloaded by Gerard Lopez, who bought the club in early 2017 through his company Victory Soccer Limited.
Lille reportedly owe just over half – €123 million (US$150 million) – of the €225 million (US$276 million) Lopez borrowed from US creditors JP Morgan and Elliott Management during his tenure.
A club statement announcing the takeover said Lille’s outstanding debt ‘will be significantly reduced and new equity will be injected into the club’, while the new owner’s first objective will be to build an ‘experienced and strong’ leadership team.
Olivier Letang (pictured), a former sporting director at Paris Saint-Germain and president of Rennes, has already been installed as chief executive following the takeover. He replaces Marc Ingla, who has resigned from the role but remains on the club’s board of directors.
“We strongly believe in the club’s potential and we will work to fulfil Lille’s full potential,” Merlyn said in a statement. “We intend to give Olivier Letang and his team the necessary means to succeed in their new roles.”
News of Lille’s takeover comes amid considerable financial uncertainty for elite club soccer in France following the collapse of Mediapro’s four-year TV rights deal with the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) that was worth more than €3 billion (US$3.6 billion).
“Given the recent difficulties in the French first division and especially the uncertainty surrounding TV rights for the French league, it’s important for Lille to have an owner of reference, known to be financially sound, like Merlyn,” Lopez said in a statement posted on Lille’s website.
Despite their financial woes, Lille currently sit top of the Ligue 1 table after 16 games, level on 33 points with Lyon but with a better goal difference.
