2005 – Michael Essien to Chelsea
Lyon released a statement denying reports in England that there was an agreement with Chelsea to sell midfielder Essien, with Aulas then calling off talks. After a lengthy transfer saga, Essien came to Stamford Bridge for £24.4m in August 2005.
2007 – Florent Malouda to Chelsea
Despite the protracted negotiations for Essien, Chelsea returned for Malouda two years later. Lyon’s head of communications Oliver Blanc said: ‘Contrary to what I’ve heard, there is no agreement with Chelsea about Malouda.’ The winger duly signed for Chelsea in a £13m deal.
Florent Malouda completed his move from Lyon to Chelsea despite denials in France
2008 – Hatem Ben Arfa to Marseille
Marseille were the ones who announced the purchase of Ben Arfa from their Ligue 1 rivals. Lyon rejected this, saying the move wouldn’t happen until certain financial guarantees were in place. They ordered Ben Arfa to return to training, but he refused, and the move eventually happened after mediation with the LFP.
2009 – Karim Benzema to Real Madrid
Manager Claude Puel denied the sale of Benzema in an interview with Le Parisien. He said: ‘We have to keep Benzema. It’s essential and a priority for the future of the club.’ But the allure of the Bernabeu was always going to prove too strong and the France striker joined that summer for 35 million euros.
Karim Benzema poses in Real Madrid kit after completing his transfer from Lyon
2012 – Hugo Lloris to Tottenham
Aulas entered into a war of words with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy during talks over the French keeper’s move to London. ‘We have had people speaking all night with Levy. He talks a lot and goes back on what we’ve agreed in writing. The things as they were at 5am were not the same at 10am. I would put it at 50-50 that Hugo goes to Tottenham.’ The move did go through, albeit close to the deadline.
2016 – Corentin Tolisso to Napoli
Lyon went out and denied a L’Equipe report that they’d agreed to sell Tolisso with a Twitter post. In the end, Tolisso turned down the move and reaffirmed his dedication to Lyon – only to move to Bayern Munich 12 months later.
2017 – Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal
In February 2017, Aulas denied that Lacazette had asked to leave the club, claiming comments made to a Canal Plus TV show had been taken out of context. After a deal with Atletico Madrid collapsed, Lacazette joined Arsenal for a club record fee of £53m.
Alexandre Lacazette scores for Arsenal on one of…