Olivier Létang passes €500m sales after Bouaddi’s €100m move to Manchester City | OneFootball

Lille and Manchester City agreed a 100 M€ deal on Sunday for Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, on a five-year contract, setting a Ligue 1 record for an outward sale. The move further underlines LOSC president Olivier Létang’s selling prowess.

According to L'Équipe, it is Létang’s 17th sale worth 10 M€ or more across Rennes and Lille since 2017, lifting his outgoing total to 583.32 M€. The Bouaddi fee also eclipses Neymar’s 90 M€ switch to Al-Hilal in 2023.

All summer, the aim was for Bouaddi to become Lille’s record departure ahead of Leny Yoro’s 62 M€ move to Manchester United in 2024. Publicly, Létang downplayed a set price, stressing few clubs could afford such an 18-year-old.

Privately, he pointed to recent Premier League midfield deals above 100 M€, citing Elliot Anderson at 135 M€ from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City and Sandro Tonali at 120 M€ from Newcastle to Tottenham, and argued Bouaddi compared well with greater upside.

In 2025, Létang calculated a 115 M€ shortfall from missing the Champions League, lower TV income and reduced CVC funds, then sold six players for 109 M€. Departures included Lucas Chevalier to PSG for 40 M€ and Bafodé Diakité to Bournemouth for 35 M€.

In 2024, Yoro declined an extension. PSG sounded out Jorge Mendes in winter without success, and Létang said the defender would not leave in January. Six months later United paid 62 M€ plus 8 M€ in bonuses after Real Madrid’s first offer was about 20 M€.

Source: L'Équipe

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