Jean-Michel Aulas officially left his post as CEO of OL Groupe on May 5 after 36 years. The entrepreneur, who made his fortune with Cegid (European Company for Decentralized Computer Management), is also a reference in football business: he was until last December the only French club manager to own his stadium, Groupama Stadium, and a club listed on the stock exchange.
Here are some figures on the Aulas years at the head of Olympique Lyonnais:
male OL
7 titles of champion of France (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
2 victories in the Coupe de France (2008, 2012)
1 League Cup win (2001)
7 victories in the Champions Trophy (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012)
Champions League semi-finalist (2010 and 2020), Europa League semi-finalist (2017)
OL feminine
15 French championship titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)
8 crowns in the Champions League (2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)
9 victories in the Coupe de France (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)
2 victories in the Champions Trophy (2019, 2022)
SEE ALSO – John Textor, owner of OL in June 2022: “There is an incredible balance here in sport and entertainment”
Major transfers
The transfers that have brought the club the most (according to the specialized reference site Transfermarkt)
1. Tanguy Ndombélé (FRA/midfielder): EUR 62m at Tottenham in July 2019 (Acquired in August 2017 for EUR 2m)
2. Alexandre Lacazette (FRA / striker): 53 M EUR at Arsenal in July 2017 (Formed in Lyon)
3. Ferland Mendy (FRA/defender): €48m at Real Madrid in July 2019 (Acquired in July 2017 for €5m)
4. Lucas Paquetá (BRA/midfielder): €42.95m at West Ham in August 2022 (Acquired in September 2020 for €23.4m)
5. Bruno Guimarães (BRA/midfielder): €42.1m at Newcastle in January 2022 (Acquired in January 2020 for €20m)
…
7. Michael Essien (GHA/midfielder): EUR 38m at Chelsea in August 2005 (Acquired in July 2003 for EUR 11.7m)
8. Karim Benzema (FRA / striker): 35 M EUR at Real Madrid in July 2009 (Formed in Lyon)
26. Hugo Lloris (FRA/goalkeeper): €12.6m at Tottenham in August 2012 (Acquired in July 2008 for €8.5m)
The transfers that cost the club the most
1. Jeff Reine-Adélaïde (FRA/middle): EUR 25m from Angers
2. Joachim Andersen (DEN/defender) €24m from Sampdoria
3. Lisandro Lopez (ARG / striker): 24 M EUR from FC Porto
4. Lucas Paquetá (BRA/milieu): 23.4 M EUR en provenance de l’AC Milan
5. Thiago Mendes (BRA / middle): 22 M EUR from Lille
6. Yoann Gourcuff (FRA/middle): EUR 22m from Bordeaux
…
9. Sonny Anderson (BRA/striker): EUR 19m from FC Barcelona
Coaches
Aulas has appointed sixteen coaches during his thirty-six years of reign, from the first Raymond Domenech (1988-1993) to the last Laurent Blanc (since 2022), including Bernard Lacombe (1996-2000), Gérard Houllier (2005-2007) , Bruno Génésio (2015-2019) or even Paul Le Guen (2002-2005), the most successful with three titles in the French championship and as many in the Champions Trophy.
The last titles won by OL were under the direction of Rémi Garde (2011-2014), with the Coupe de France and the Champions Trophy in 2012.
Only two foreigners have sat on the bench: Brazilian Sylvinho (2019) and Dutchman Peter Bosz (2021-2022).