The two best players of the 1987 generation of Olympique Lyonnais do not have the same opinion on their former president Jean-Michel Aulas, a few hours after the announcement of his departure from the presidency of Olympique Lyonnais after 36 years of reign. If the Ballon d'Or Fifa-France-Football 2022 Karim Benzema paid tribute to his former boss on his Instagram account, Hatem Ben Arfa does not keep a good memory of Jean-Michel Aulas. "You're not going to miss football. Goodbye," wrote the former player of the France team (15 caps, 2 goals) now 36 years old who has not found a club since his departure from Lille in 2022.
Hatem Ben Arfa did not spare Jean-Michel Aulas on Instagram. Capture.
The quarrel between the two dates back to 2008. Champion for the 4th time in a row with OL, the "Best Promising Player" of the 2007-2008 season during the UNFP Trophies then decided to leave his training club to go to OM. The Marseille club announced at the end of June that an agreement had been reached with Lyon for the transfer of HBA. Three days later, Olympique Lyonnais declared in a press release the end of negotiations because the absence of certain elements necessary for the transfer would not allow it to be effective before the "deadline" set by OL on June 30.
The next day, Hatem Ben Arfa assures that he has signed in Marseille and that he will not return to Lyon, thus opposing the injunction formulated by Olympique Lyonnais. At the end of a meeting under the aegis of the legal commission of the LFP where Jean-Michel Aulas, Pape Diouf (then president of OM) and the player himself were present, the final elements of the transfer were settled and the LFP approved the transfer. Hatem Ben Arfa had delivered his explanations on the reasons that pushed Jean-Michel Aulas to go back on the agreement reached with Pape Diouf during the press conference of his arrival on the Canebière. "Lyon tried to sell me to Real Madrid rather than OM," he said. They thought it would be advantageous for them because Real would pay without complaining the signing bonus that I had to receive. My goal was clear. I wanted to go to Marseille. Anyway, I would have stopped football if it hadn't happened like that. »
