This is a new stone in the rapprochement between OL and ASVEL. The young retired Tony Parker, former star player of the San Antonio Spurs and current president of ASVEL, will join the OL board in the coming months.
Jean-Michel Aulas, the President of Lyon, announced this Wednesday at a press conference on the announcement of the (good) financial results of his club, in the green everywhere. With in particular revenue from activities for the first half of 2019-2020 at 197.2 million euros, up 17%, and a gross operating surplus of 61.8 million euros, up 15%.
“OL shareholders agree in principle. We will be able to integrate Tony, explains Jean-Michel Aulas. It is a shared wish. "
Aulas' successor at OL?
Parker is expected to be inducted at an upcoming group general meeting. “I really appreciate Tony as a sportsman because he won everything as an athlete. He is also a talented entrepreneur, with less experience than some, but we complement each other. He appreciates what we do at OL. It creates a number of convergences. "
For several months, OL and Parker have been multiplying joint actions. In 2019, OL Groupe, the holding company that controls OL, acquired 30% of the capital of ASVEL. OL Groupe also acquired (for 3 million euros) the women's football club from Reign FC while Parker entered the capital of the same club.
An Arena, next to the Groupama Stadium in Décines, should also see the light of day by 2023. It will host certain ASVEL matches.
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In Lyon, some even imagine Parker taking over from Aulas at the head of OL in the medium term. So does he have the profile? “He is someone who knows high performance sport very well. Afterwards, to be president of OL, you have to be dubbed by all the shareholders, that requires a certain number of discussions beforehand. For the moment, it has not been started, ”concludes Jean-Michel Aulas.
