Olympique Lyonnais (French:Olympique lyonnais;French pronunciation:[ɔlɛ̃pikljɔnɛ]), commonly referred to as simplyLyon (French pronunciation:[ljɔ̃]) orOL, is a men's French professionalfootball club based inLyon,Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes,France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950.[2]
The club won its first Ligue 1 championship in2002, beginning a national record-setting streak of seven successive titles. Lyon has also won eightTrophées des Champions, fiveCoupes de France, and threeLigue 2 titles. On aEuropean level, the team has participated in theUEFA Champions League seventeen times, reaching the semi-final of the competition during the2009–10 season and the2019–20 season, and have made it to the quarterfinals in three other occasions. They have also qualified for theEuropa League numerous times, making it as far as the semi-final during the2016–17 season.[3]
The club's nickname,Les Gones, translates to "The Kids" in Lyon's regionaldialect ofFranco-Provençal.[1] They have a long-standing rivalry with nearby teamSaint-Étienne, against whom they contest theLe Derby. French businessmanJean-Michel Aulas purchased Lyon in June 1987 until it was purchased by American businessmanJohn Textor in December 2022.[4]Michele Kang was eventually announced president of the club in June 2025 following Textor's resignation from his leadership position due to the poor financial state of Lyon.
In 1899, a football club namedOlympique de Lyon was formed within the multi-sport club,Lyon Olympique Universitaire, originally formed in 1896 asRacing Club de Lyon. During the early years of the club, the football section was often overshadowed by then-local rivals,FC Lyon. Following numerous internal disagreements regarding the cohabitation of amateurs and professionals within the club, then-manager of the club Félix Louot and his entourage contemplated forming their own club.
Following months of meetings, Louot's plans came to fruition when a final meeting of around twenty people took place on 23 May 1950 inCafé Neuf in the city's main square,Place Bellecour. During this meeting, the nameOlympique Lyonnais was decided for the new club, as well as the club's colours of red and blue. Among the twenty people were Albert Trillat, credited with the club's name and colours, as well as Armand Groslevin, who would become the club's first president.[5] Days later on 26 May, Lyon-based newspaper,Le Progrès reported that the club had officially been formed.[5]
On 27 August 1950, the club played its first official match under managerOscar Heisserer, defeatingCA Paris-Charenton 3–0 in front of 3,000 supporters, with Lyon's first goal being scored within the first forty seconds of the match.[6] The majority of the players in Lyon's squad had previously played for Lyon Olympique Universitaire.[7] In just the club's second year of existence, Lyon were crowned champions ofDivision 2 during the1950–51 season, securing promotion toDivision 1 for the1951–52 season. The club maintained its place in Division 1 for the remainder of the decade, excluding a year's stint in Division 2 for the1953–54 season.
In June 1987, Lyon was bought by localRhône-based businessman,Jean-Michel Aulas who took control of the club aiming to turn Lyon into an established Division 1 side. His ambitious plan, titledOL – Europe, was designed to develop the club at aEuropean level and back into the first division within a period of no more than four years.[10] The first manager under the new hierarchy wasRaymond Domenech. The aspiring chairman gave Domenechcarte blanche to recruit whoever he saw fit to help the team reach the first division. They went on to accomplish this in Domenech's first season in charge, qualifying for theUEFA Cup. For the remainder of his tenure, however, the club underachieved. Domenech was replaced by formerFrench internationalJean Tigana, who led the team to an impressive second place in the1994–95 season.
Lyon began investment in sports outside of football, operating anesports team in China,[12] and in 2019 purchased a minority stake in the localASVELbasketball club, specifically purchasing a 25% interest in ASVEL's men's side and a 10% interest in thewomen's side.[13] The club later announced in December of the same year that it would buy an 89.5% stake in the U.S.National Women's Soccer League team known at the time as Reign FC. The purchase closed in January 2020 following approval of the NWSL board.[14] Several weeks later, the rebranding of Reign FC asOL Reign was announced.[15]
In the2019–20 season, Lyon suffered a poor start to the season, and ended the season in seventh place, as the league was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Lyon also reached the final of theCoupe de la Ligue, however, they eventually lost toParis Saint-Germain 6–5 on penalties.[16] Ultimately, this meant that Lyon failed to qualify for European competition for the first time in 24 years. In theChampions League, Lyon were more successful, defeatingJuventus in the round of 16 andManchester City in the quarter-final to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 10 years.[17][18] However, they eventually lost 3–0 in the semi-final toBayern Munich, eliminating Lyon from the competition.[19] Two seasons later, Lyon competed in the2021–22 Europa League season, eventually being knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals byWest Ham 4–1 on aggregate.[20]
On 8 May 2023, after 36 years of presidency, Aulas announced he would be stepping down as president of Olympique Lyonnais, having sold the club to American businessmanJohn Textor in December 2022.[21]
In December 2022, following months of delays and negotiation, Textor's Eagle Group became majority stakeholders of Lyon, acquiring a 77.49% stake[22] in the club at a valuation of €900 million including debt.[23] At the time of purchase, Textor also owned 100% of bothBrazilian clubBotafogo andBelgian clubRWD Molenbeek, as well as a 45% stake inEnglish clubCrystal Palace.[24]
On 16 September 2023, Italian coachFabio Grosso, who is also a former player of the club, was appointed head of the first team.[25] Eventually, with the club last in the Ligue 1 table, the team's management announced at the end of November 2023 that Grosso had been sacked after being in charge for just seven games.[26] Academy coachPierre Sage was named as the team's interim coach who led the team to finish in sixth place, qualifying Lyon to compete in the2024–25 Europa League season having spent the two previous seasons out of European tournaments.[27] In July 2024, Sage's interim status was removed and he was named the new permanent coach.[28] On 27 January 2025, Sage was sacked as Lyon manager and replaced by Portuguese coachPaulo Fonseca days later on 31 January.[29] Fonseca eventually led Lyon to a 6th place finish, qualifying Lyon to play in the2025–26 Europa League season.[30]
During this period, the club sold its women's team,OL Lyonnes, known at the time asOlympique Lyonnais Féminin as well as theLDLC Arena, a multipurpose arena near Lyon's stadium.[31]
On 24 June 2025, Lyon were administratively relegated toLigue 2 by theDNCG due to the poor state of the club's finances.[32]
On 30 June 2025, it was announced that OL Lyonnes president and shareholder in Eagle Football Group,Michele Kang, had been appointed as Chairwoman and CEO of Eagle Football Group and President of Olympique Lyonnais, with Michael Gerlinger also being appointed Director General after John Textor resigned from his leadership positions.[33] Just over two weeks later, on 9 July 2025, the decision to relegate Lyon due to financial problems was reversed due to actions made by the club, allowing Lyon to compete in both Ligue 1 and the Europa League for the2025–26 season.[34]
Olympique Lyonnais was owned byRhône businessmanJean-Michel Aulas, who acquired the club on 15 June 1987. He serves as the founder and chief operating officer of CEGID (Compagnie Européenne de Gestion par l'Informatique Décentralisée). After ridding the club of its debt, Aulas restructured the club's management and reorganised the finances and, in a span of two decades, transformed the club from a second division team into one of the richest football clubs in the world. However, Aulas has been lambasted by critics for running the club as if it were a business. During this period, the club'sholding company operated on theEuropean Stock Exchange under the nameOL Groupe, initialled OLG.[35] Aulas currently serves on the board for theEuropean Club Association, a sports organisation representingfootball clubs in Europe. He was also the last president of the now-defunctG-14 organisation.
In April 2008, business magazineForbes ranked Lyon as the thirteenth most valuable football team in the world. The magazine valued the club at $408 million (€275.6M), excluding debt.[36] In February 2009, Lyon were rated in the 12th spot in theDeloitte Football Money League, reportedly bringing in an annual revenue of €155.7 million for the2007–08 season, which ranks among the world's best football clubs in terms of revenue.[37]
In 2016, a Chinese private equity fund acquired 20% stake in Olympique Lyonnais Group for €100 million. The fund was managed byIDG Capital Partners.[38]
In December 2022, American businessmanJohn Textor completed the purchase of the club, owning 77.49% of the club's shares and thus becomes the new owner of the club. Under this arrangement, the club suggested that Aulas would continue to serve as president for at least three more seasons.[39] However, on 8 May 2023, it was announced that Textor had replaced Aulas to become the chairman and CEO of OL Groupe, thus making him the new president of Olympique Lyonnais, ending Aulas' 36 years rule, during which more than 50 major titles have been won for both men's and women's teams.[40] Jean-Michel Aulas was appointed honorary chairman, andL'Équipe reported that Aulas would be compensated €10 million for his exit and retain a 9% stake in the club.[41]
On 13 July 2023, Frenchman Santiago Cucci was named to become the new interim executive president ofOL Groupe, but later resigned in November. He was replaced by Laurent Prud'homme, who remained in the position until May 2025.[42]
Following Lyon's administrative relegation toLigue 2 in June 2025 by theDNCG, John Textor resigned due to pressure from the club's shareholders. American businesswomanMichele Kang, one of the club's shareholders and the owner ofLyon women's team was appointed as the new president.[33] In Lyon's appeal hearing with the DNCG in 9 July, represented by Michele Kang and the club's new general director Michael Gerlinger, the club successfully won the appeal, and the DNCG confirmed that Lyon would remain in Ligue 1.[43]
Olympique Lyonnais played at theStade de Gerland between 1950 and 2015. In 1910, the then-mayor ofLyon,Édouard Herriot, wanted to develop and build asports stadium with both anathletics track and avelodrome in the city.[45] In 1912, the stadium was officially mandated and local architectTony Garnier was given the reins in designing and constructing it. Construction began in 1914 with the hope that the stadium would be completed before theInternational Exhibition of 1914. Construction was halted due to theFirst World War, but construction was eventually completed in 1919. By 1920, the stadium was completely functional.
The stadium's cycling track was eventually removed to increase the seating capacity to around 50,000. In September 1980, the stadium would see its record attendance of 48,552 during aderby game between Lyon andSaint-Étienne.[49] In 1984, minor renovations were made to the stadium by architect René Gagis.[50] This included construction of theJean Bouin andJean Jaurès stands. Further renovations were needed to prepare the stadium for the1998 FIFA World Cup, as by that time FIFA had mandated that all stadiums used for international matches had to beall-seater. These renovations, planned by architect Albert Constantin, included the Jean Jaurès and Jean Bouin stands being demolished and rebuilt as well as removing the remaining athletics track. This new incarnation of the stadium had a maximum capacity of 40,494.
On 5 December 2015, Lyon played their final game in the Stade de Gerland in a 2–0 defeat againstAngers.[51] The stadium is now the home ofLyon OU Rugby and currently holds a capacity of 35,000 spectators.[52]
Parc Olympique Lyonnais (2016–present)
On 1 September 2008, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas announced plans to create a new 60,000-seater stadium, tentatively calledOL Land, to be built on 50 hectares of land located inDécines-Charpieu, a suburb of Lyon. Over a month later, on 13 October 2008, the project was agreed upon by the State, theGeneral Council of Rhône, theGrand Lyon,SYTRAL and the municipality of Décines-Charpieu for construction with approximately €180 million of public money being used, with between €60–80 million coming from theUrban Community of Lyon.[53] After the announcement, however, the club's efforts to get the stadium off the ground were hindered mainly due to slow administrative procedures, political interests and various opposition groups, who viewed the stadium as financially, ecologically and socially wrong for the taxpayers and community of Décines-Charpieu. The official name of the stadium was provisionally to beLe Stade des Lumières.[54][55]
On 22 September 2009, French newspaperL'Équipe reported thatOL Land had been selected by theFrench Football Federation (FFF) as one of the 12 stadiums to be used in the country's bidding forUEFA Euro 2016.[56] The FFF officially made their selections on 11 November 2009 and the city of Lyon was selected as a site to host matches during the tournament.[57]
Since 2017, Lyon has had a sponsorship partnership with French insurance companyGroupama. As a result, the Parc Olympique Lyonnais is currently known as theGroupama Stadium, with the club having renewed the partnership in 2020, 2022 and 2025.[59] As of 2025, the partnership is estimated to be worth €6.9 million a year.[60]
TheCentre Tola Vologe was the training centre and club headquarters of Olympique Lyonnais before the move to their new stadium in 2016. It is located in the city of Lyon, not far from the Stade de Gerland. The facility is named afterAnatole Vologe, commonly called Tola Vologe, who was a Lyonsportsman and was murdered by theGestapo during World War II. The facility is known for its high-level training[61] and several prominent players have passed through the youth training centre. These includeKarim Benzema,Hatem Ben Arfa,Sidney Govou,Alexandre Lacazette,Samuel Umtiti andLudovic Giuly. The centre used to host training sessions for the senior team and also served as the home facility for the club'sreserve, youth (both male and female), andfemale sides, who both played their home matches at thePlaine des Jeux de Gerland. Jean-François Vulliez is the current director of the centre.
Both the men and women teams now train within a modern complex right by the newGroupama Stadium inDécines. The youth Academy also moved to the neighbouring town ofMeyzieu.
Lyon won six of their seven league titles wearing this kit.
Since the club's foundation, the primary colours have been red, blue, and white, with the latter being the most predominant of the three. During the early years of the club's existence, Olympique Lyonnais primarily played in all-white uniforms. In 1955, Lyon officials decided to add a red and bluechevron and blue shorts to the combination.[62] In 1961, the chevron tradition was disbanded and the two strips of red and blue were shaped horizontally.[63] After six years, the club returned to the all-white uniforms, but kept intact the red and blue stripes, but, instead of keeping them horizontally, inserted them vertically and on the left side of the shirt.[64] Lyon began wearing the shirt during the1970–71 season and wore the kits up until the1975–76 season. For the2002–03 season, chairman Jean-Michel Aulas announced that the club would return the kits. Lyon wore them, with several different modifications every year, for six of their seven consecutive titles.
In 1976, the club endured a drastic change to their kits, ditching the all-white uniforms for an all-red style, akin to English clubLiverpool. The club wore the kits up until the1989–90 season, with the1977–78 and1978–79 seasons being excluded due to the club adding navy blue vertical stripes to the shirt that was deemed unsuccessful.[65] Following the 1989–90 season, the club returned to the all-white kits and, at the start of the1995–96 season, the club returned the vertical stripes, but opted to insert them in the center of the shirt, instead of to the left. The club kept this style until the2001–02 season. For the2009–10 season, Lyon returned the horizontal red and blue stripes. In theChampions League, Lyon has used a variety of different colours as first choice, including red, navy blue, light blue, black, silver and fluorescent yellow.[66]
Tribune ofBad Gones before the match Olympique Lyonnais – Real Madrid in 2006.
Olympique Lyonnais has an active fanbase composed of many groups of supporters. One of the club's most notable supporters group isBad Gones ("Bad Kids"). TheBad Gones were established in 1987 around the time of Jean-Michel Aulas's purchase of the team and used to occupy the Virage Nord area of the Stade de Gerland, and currently occupy the Virage Nord area of the Parc Olympique Lyonnais. During the2007–08 season, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary. TheBad Gones is the biggest group of supporters in France and have a very strong reputation in Europe, due to the club's control ofLigue 1, as well as Lyon's continued appearances in theUEFA Champions League.
Another notable supporters group is theCosa Nostra Lyon, who occupy the Virage Sud area of the stadium. The group was created in 2007 as a result of a merger between two groups, theLugdunums, which had existed since 1993 andNucleo Ultra, which formed in 2000. The merger was created to achieve a sense of stability among supporters. The group is no longer recognised by the club, but continues to operate in a functional manner. Other support groups include theHex@gones, which was formed in 2000 and sit in the Virage Sud area, theGastrogones, who occupy theJean Bouin stand, and theO'Elles Club, who sit in theJean Jaurès stand.
The club also has support groups that are based in areas outside of the city of Lyon. TheGones 58 supporters come from the department ofNièvre inBourgogne, whileGones 26 origins come from the department ofDrôme in nearbyValence. Three minor support groups inSeptimagones,Loups Marchois, andDauphigones comes from the commune ofHérépian, the department ofCreuse, and the department ofIsère, respectively. Outside of France, theLyondoners are based inLondon and follow Lyon at home, away and internationally.
Lyon's first competitive game was a 3–0 victory againstCA Paris-Charenton on 26 August 1950. Since the club's foundation in 1950, they have played over 50 seasons inFrance's highest football division, playing over 1,800 matches. Of the nine seasons the club played inLigue 2, they contested 310 matches. Lyon achieved their 1,000th victory during the2003–04 season after defeatingStrasbourg.
The Moroccan-born French midfielderSerge Chiesa holds Lyon overall appearance record having played in 541 matches over the course of 14 seasons from 1969 to 1983. Following him is formergoalkeeperGrégory Coupet who contested 518 matches over the course of 11 seasons from 1997 to 2008. Along withSidney Govou, Coupet also has the distinction of being the only player in Lyon's history to win all four domestic French titles having been a part of all seven Ligue 1 titles, the club'sCoupe de France triumph in 2008, the onlyCoupe de la Ligue win in 2001, and six of the sevenTrophée des Champions titles. Govou, Coupet, andJuninho share the honour of being only Lyon players who were a part of all seven title runs.
The club's all-time leading scorer isFleury Di Nallo, who scored 222 goals while at the club from 1960 to 1974. Di Nallo is also third behind Chiesa and Coupet in all time appearances having played in 489 matches during his 14-year stint at the club. Despite Di Nallo's impressive goalscoring record, he doesn't hold the record for most goals scored during a league season. That distinction was held byBourg-en-Bresse-bornAndré Guy who notched 25 goals, which he attained in the1968–69 season.Alexandre Lacazette, however, scored his 26th goal of the2014–15 league season in an important game away toStade de Reims when he scored in the sixth minute.
Lyon's biggest victory is 10–0, which occurred of two occasions againstAjaccio during the 1953–54 edition of the Coupe de France and, two seasons later, againstDelle during the 1955–56 edition of the competition. Lyon's biggest league victory is 8–0 and also occurred on two occasions. The first being during the1966–67 season againstAngers, and the second being against Marseille during the1997–98 season. The club's biggest victory on the European stage occurred during the 1974–75 season, where Lyon hammeredLuxembourg-based clubFA Red Boys Differdange 7–0.
The Saint-Étienne rivalry began during the 1960s when Lyon established their residency in the French first division. TheArpitan rivalry stems simply from the close proximity of the clubs to each other, separated by just 61 kilometres (38 mi), as well as historical social and cultural difference between the two cities where they are based; Lyon traditionally cited as being a financially comfortable and middle class city, whileSaint-Étienne is traditionally regarded as being more industrial and working-class.[67] Thederby also pits "the most recently successful French club" (Lyon) against "the formerly biggest French club" (Saint-Étienne) and is often seen as one of the high points of theLigue 1 season.
Lyon's rivalry with Marseille goes back to 23 September 1945, when the clubs contested their first match. The derby, often calledChoc des Olympiques ("Clash of the Olympics") orOlympico, is often cited as being particularly important as both clubs are of high standard inFrench football and the championship is regularly decided between the two. Marseille, Saint-Étienne, Lyon, and PSG are the only French clubs to have won the French first division four straight times, with Marseille doing this on two occasions.
On 7 August 2009, Lyon announced that it signed a ten-year deal with the German sportswear brandAdidas, effective at the start of the2010–11 season with Lyon earning €5 million annually from the deal, plus possible royalty fees based on product sales.[68] As of the2024–25 season, Lyon still have a deal with Adidas which will last until the end of the 2028–29 season.[69]
Following the2008–09 season, Lyon's long-term sponsorship agreement with the Frenchmultinational corporationAccor and Lyon-basedRenault Trucks ended. On 22 July 2009, the Paris-based online bookmaker BetClic reached an agreement with Lyon to advertise on the club's kits. However, due toFrench law prohibitingonline gambling, Lyon could not wear its kits displaying the logo. On 12 August 2009, just before the opening league match againstLe Mans, the club was relieved of its BetClic-sponsored shirts by theLigue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which warned the club that it risked forfeiting points if the club wore them.[70] Lyon complied and, since the Le Mans match, wore sponsorless shirts while playing on French soil. Lyon were free to wear its BetClic sponsored shirts outside France; on 25 August 2009, the club unveiled the shirts inBelgium while taking onAnderlecht in the Champions League. On 15 January 2010, Lyon secured a sponsorship agreement with Japanese video game companySony Computer Entertainment to display the company'sPlayStation logo on their shirts. The deal lasted until the end of the2009–10 season. In 2010, the French ban on online gambling advertising was lifted and Lyon began wearing its BetClic-sponsored shirts on French soil. In August 2012, the club agreed a two-year sponsorship deal with Korean car manufacturersHyundai that would start in2012–13 season, replacing BetClic as the main sponsor in their shirts for Ligue 1 matches.
Lyon have been sponsored byEmirates since 2020.[71]
On 27 July 2005, the club launched the 24/7 network OLTV, which is completely devoted to club programming and events, along with reserve and women's team matches. OLTV was renamed to OL Play in 2021.[72]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
16 – retired in 1999 in recognition ofgoalkeeperLuc Borrelli. Borrelli was killed in a road accident in February of that year. In 2011, the number was brought out of retirement and given to back-up goalkeeperAnthony Lopes and as since been reissued again.
17 – retired in 2003 in recognition ofmidfielderMarc-Vivien Foé. Foé died while playing forCameroon in the2003 FIFA Confederations Cup at the Stade de Gerland, Lyon. The number was brought out of retirement in 2008 to allow Cameroonian playerJean Makoun to wear it. Following Makoun's departure, the number went without use for a year. In 2011, it was given toAlexandre Lacazette and as since been reissued again.
Olympique Lyonnais has had 22 permanent coaches and two caretaker coaches since the club's first appointedOscar Heisserer as a professional coach in 1950. Heisserer also served as the firstplayer-coach of the club, coming out of retirement to play during his final season at the club. The longest-serving coach in terms of time wasAimé Mignot, who coached Lyon for eight years from 1968 to 1976.Alain Perrin, who coached the club from 2007 to 2008, was the first Lyon coach to achievethe double.
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, renamed in 2025 as OL Lyonnes,[78] currently play in France's top division,Division 1 Féminine. The ladies team was set up in the 1970s as part ofFC Lyon, but was attached to OL in the summer of 2004. They mostly play their home games at Groupama OL Training Center, 200 metres fromParc Olympique Lyonnais, the main stadium. From 2025, they share the main stadium as their home ground.[79]
