When Jean-Michel Aulas went big on Yoann Gourcuff in hope of reasserting OL’s supremacy | OneFootball

In August 2010, after a protracted tussle with Bordeaux, Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas signed France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff for 22 million. It brought together the star of the moment and the leading French club of the era.

According to L'9quipe, Gourcuff left Bordeaux late that month, having been crowned champion of France there, to join OL.

That summer, French football was at a low ebb, tarnished by the France squad 2s training strike at Knysna in South Africa during a World Cup the Bleus stumbled through.

OL were hardly flourishing either. Having dominated Ligue 1 for seven straight seasons and won the title from 2002 to 2008, they had seen the past two crowns go to Laurent Blanc 2s Bordeaux and Didier Deschamps 2s OM.

The transfer arrived amid upheaval for both club and country.

Source: L'Équipe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”