Spirit owner Kang set for Lyon Feminin takeover, says outgoing president Aulas

Everyone at Lyon sure is acting like the Washington Spirit owner is taking charge in France

Michele Kang’s move to purchase the women’s half of Lyon appears to be just about complete.

The Washington Spirit owner has been rumored to be finalizing a move to become Lyon Féminin’s majority owner for roughly a month, and it appears that Lyon is ready to drop any pretense about what’s happening.

Lyon hung on to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Saturday’s Coupe de France final, with Ada Hegerberg’s two early goals helping them claim a record 10th French cup.

Following the match, longtime club president Jean-Michel Aulas — who is stepping down after 36 years, forging the most star-studded and successful women’s club on the planet during his tenure — told reporters at the Stade de la Source that he was working with Kang to hand control over without a hitch.

In quotes published by Le Progres, Aulas said that the handover process was in place “to show that while never having given up on the principles, it [must] be that those who arrive with passion and a vision, they had to welcome and put [Kang] in the best conditions.”

Lyon head coach Sonia Bompastor offered further confirmation, telling beIN Sport that Kang is spending time around the club as part of a transition of power.

“Michele Kang will be with us all week, it’s a bit of a handover,” saind Bompastor. “I’m convinced that she has ambitions and wants to continue to invest so that [Lyon] win other titles.”

After the match, club captain and longtime France center back Wendie Renard dedicated the trophy to Aulas, and outright called the Coupe de France victory “the first with the new management Michele Kang and John Textor.”

As if what was coming weren’t clear from Aulas, Bompastor, and Renard, Kang was also on the trophy stand, receiving a winner’s medal with players, coaches, and club staff following the final.

No moves have been formally announced by Kang, Lyon, or John Textor, who owns over 77% of Lyon’s overall shares at the moment. When reached by Pro Soccer Wire on Saturday, the Spirit said the club doesn’t “have anything to share at this time.”

If Aulas and Bompastor are correct, though, Kang may want to consider extending her stay for just over a week. Lyon and PSG will face off again in Division 1 Féminine play on May 21, with the former holding a three-point lead in the standings with two games to play. Another win over PSG would give Lyon their 16th league title; due to a +22 goal difference advantage, a draw would effectively (if not mathematically) seal the deal as well.

Kang’s takeover at Lyon comes with questions in NWSL

Kang’s takeover of Lyon is a potentially complicated situation on both sides of the Atlantic. For Lyon, the women’s side of the club being owned by a separate party may — as Bompastor alluded to — spur further investment than Textor was willing to put in.

With women’s soccer growing in popularity in Europe, Lyon’s perch as the undisputed top dog in UEFA has been challenged by clubs like Barcelona, Chelsea, and Manchester City, not to mention PSG’s emergence as a threat in France. The financial realities are stark: as much as Lyon has pioneered what women’s soccer could be under the umbrella of a larger European club, there’s a major difference between “larger” and the continent’s biggest soccer teams.

Standing pat would very likely see Lyon fall off in terms of financial power in the years to come, as bigger clubs on the men’s side dedicate more of their resources towards their women’s teams. Without someone in a position of power championing Lyon Féminin (as Aulas has done for decades), their days of being the world’s premier club would probably be numbered.

In NWSL, the situation is murkier. Since emerging victorious in a hotly contested battle for control over the club with former owners Steve Baldwin and Bill Lynch, Kang has invested heavily in the Spirit, including a leading-edge high performance and sports science department, improved equipment to aid training, and a larger and more experienced staff on both the soccer and business sides. Multiple sources have told Pro Soccer Wire that Kang spent into the seven-figure range to get out of a deal with MLS side D.C. United that locked the team into playing several games a season at exurban Segra Field, securing Audi Field in the District as their full-time home.

However, Lyon (through the club’s OL Groupe ownership structure) currently serves as majority owner of OL Reign. While Lyon did announce plans to sell the Reign in the near future, there have been no updates since the French side offhandedly acknowledged that intention last month. It’s not clear what would happen on the NWSL side of things if Kang held ownership in both the Spirit and Lyon at the same time.

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