Textor files $400m claim against Kang in US court | OneFootball

John Textor, the former Olympique Lyonnais owner and president, has filed a lawsuit in Florida seeking $400m in damages from Michele Kang, who bought the club in June. AFP reports that the action targets Kang over events surrounding OL’s change of control.

Textor alleges a conspiracy to take control and ownership of Lyon. In the filing, he accuses Kang of corruption, abuse of power, falsified accounts, and spreading false or misleading information.

In June, Lyon lodged a complaint against unnamed persons for misuse of corporate assets after an internal probe into operations between May 2023 and June 2025. Those dates cover Textor’s presidency, though the club did not name him.

The internal audit said the company’s activities were deliberately disorganised, with systematic opacity in financial management. It highlighted financial flows worth several hundred million euros that appeared to lack economic justification.

Textor became majority shareholder in late 2022 via Eagle Football Holdings Bidco, a group including OL, Crystal Palace, sold last year after financial problems, Botafogo in Brazil and Molenbeek in Belgium.

He became Lyon president in May 2023 as financial pressures mounted, with the club nearly facing administrative relegation in June 2025 due to heavy debt. He was replaced by Kang, 67, already owner of Lyon’s women’s team, and the club kept its Ligue 1 place.

Textor has since faced further difficulties, including a dispute involving Eagle Football Holdings Bidco, which entered administration in England in late March. After losing control of Lyon, he was removed from Botafogo’s leadership in April, and on 1 July shareholders of SAF Botafogo voted unanimously to revoke him from board roles.

Source: Le Progres