John Textor on Juninho: ‘His best days at Lyon are still to come.’
Speaking to RMC Sport in the wake of his meeting with the DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog, John Textor has said that he believes that Juninho will “get back involved” at Olympique Lyonnais. However, the American owner did not reveal in what capacity.
L’Équipe first revealed that Juninho, who left his role as Lyon sporting director in 2021, could make a shock return to the French club. In recent weeks, there has been a reshuffle at the club with multiple departures. Santiago Cucci and Vincent Ponsot are notably on their way out of the club.
However, it does not seem that Juninho will be a direct replacement for Ponsot, who instead could be replaced by David Friio, who recently left his post at arch-rivals Olympique de Marseille. There will, however, still be a place for Juninho at Lyon, as Textor revealed on Tuesday.
“I don’t think there is a scenario where he comes back fully. He enjoys his life in Rio […] I do think he is going to get back involved and be useful, but I haven’t asked him to move back to France. If you had his life in Rio, you would stay in Rio! But I think he cares about the club a great deal and he clearly wants to help and I appreciate that. I think his best days at Lyon are still to come,” said Textor. The exact role that can be carved out for Juninho is yet to be seen, but L’Équipe have reported that Textor is looking to bring a special advisor on board.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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