PSG host Lyon at the Parc des Princes tonight for a mouth-watering clash between the league leaders and the most in-form Ligue 1 team. Les Gones have won their last four games in all competitions, including a thrilling 3-2 home win against Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. Should they inflict their first Ligue 1 defeat on Les Parisiens, Lyon would close the gap on the leaders to just six points. It would also be an intriguing new plot twist in the rift between PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Olympique Lyonnais John Textor.
As we say in France, Al-Khelaifi and Textor have no plans to spend their holidays together, because the two executives do not agree on many issues, such as PSG's search for Lyon's Rayan Cherki and especially the domestic TV of the competition. rights bidding process, which arguably proved catastrophic for Ligue 1 clubs. Last month, the Eagle Football chief complained that Lyon had many enemies, including “a big club in Qatar”.
L'Equipe reported this Sunday that Textor and Al-Khelaifi exchanged icy text messages over the summer, revealing an abrupt deterioration in their once cordial relationship. On July 12, Textor reportedly asked his Qatari counterpart to speak to him about the TV rights, mentioning that he was kept informed through Lyon CEO Laurent Prud'homme. Al-Khelaifi reportedly replied to Textor: “You should know that your husband knows nothing about TV rights, have a nice day.”
Textor does not let this pass him by and regrets the power and influence of Al-Khelaifi in the competition. “You didn't call me to ask my opinion, but to tell me what to think.” After an onslaught of caustic text messages, Al-Khelaifi tells Textor he has no intention of talking to him or even seeing him again. “Learn how to run a club and the media, this is the last time I will let you talk to me,” the PSG president reportedly told Textor. The American businessman replied that he felt comfortable with that, before addressing Al-Khelaifi personally: “You always say you save everyone, that's just megalomaniacal behavior.”
Textor's comment seems to have struck a chord with Al-Khelaifi, who ended the conversation with the following message: “You don't understand football and I'm wasting my time talking to you. Wherever you go, you lose.”
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
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