Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Jul 25, 2008 13:42:44 GMT -1
Lyon chairman says club would spend big on star name
By Patrick Haond Last updated: 25th July 2008
Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has revealed that the Ligue 1 club would be prepared to spend big on the likes of Samuel Eto'o or Didier Drogba.
Barcelona's Eto'o and Chelsea's Drogba have both been linked with high-priced transfers away from their respective clubs this summer.
Aulas is keen to claim European football's top prize, the UEFA Champions League, and admits that he would grant Claude Puel permission to bid for a world-class forward should the manager indicate that the addition would prove decisive in the new season.
However, Aulas is wary of disrupting the club's current blueprint for the future, while he also revealed that Lyon previously failed in their attempts to sign Cameroon international Eto'o.
Money
He told L'Equipe: "We don't have the means of Chelsea to spend money like water. Our priority this season was to keep Karim Benzema.
"Samuel almost joined the club four years ago when he was at Real Mallorca. If he wants to join us tomorrow, coach Claude Puel will be delighted and we have the means to do it.
"However, is it a good solution to put a player with such wages in the Lyon changing-room? I already talked about Eto'o with [Barcelona president] Joan Laporta. I believe they don't have any offer for him yet.
Pressure
"It will all depend on Claude Puel. If tomorrow he tells me to win the Champions League he needs Eto'o or Drogba, we will try to sign them, even if we will live beyond our means.
"I don't want to put pressure on our coach, but he knows the objective: win the Champions League before 2012.
"It is not that easy, even [Chelsea owner Roman] Abramovich has difficulties despite huge investments. Arsenal, which is a model I have followed, never achieved it either."
------------------------------------------------------------
i bet he's really a leeds fan, if you catch my drift *fantasy world*
