OL gives Castello Lukeba a firm answer

The departures of two talented youngsters, Castello Lukeba and Bradley Barcola, are causing tension at OL. They refuse to accept the players’ version of events. As proof of this, the Rhone club has strongly denied Lukeba’s comments on the reasons for his transfer.

Nothing has been spared at Olympique Lyonnais. From the stormy ousting of Jean-Michel Aulas and the particularly complicated summer transfer window to disastrous results and angry supporters, the Rhone club is going through one of the darkest periods in its recent history. And to top it all off, the players who have jumped ship are publicly blaming the club’s management.

One such player is Castello Lukeba, who, aware of his damaged image among fans, was keen to set the record straight by giving his version of the summer mercato. Sold for €35m to RB Leipzig, the central defender, who had everything it took to become the boss of Lyon’s defence, clearly blamed Lyon’s directors for never having offered him a contract extension.

However, this version has been disputed by the club, which was keen to refute the comments made by its former player. «OL formally denies the information put forward by Castello Lukeba to justify his departure from the club and would like to state that the reality is very different. Lyon made several offers to extend his contract at the end of 2022, all of which were rejected by the player’s representatives. The latter stated at the end of December that Lukeba had decided to leave at the end of the 2022-2023 season» the club told the team.

Not only does OL deny this, but it also insists that it was indeed the Lukeba clan that manoeuvred the decision to leave. « At the initiative of OL, discussions were nevertheless resumed in April, only to be turned down by Lukeba’s new advisors, who never stopped firmly reiterating the player’s desire to leave the club. Finally, OL would like to point out that Castello Lukeba firmly reiterated his determination to leave the club and join Leipzig at the meeting with John Textor.

Castello Lukeba does not deny having asked John Textor for his departure, but in his opinion it was the result of a lack of consideration from the OL and a total absence of offers. It remains to be seen who is telling the truth about the existence of one or more offers to extend his contract. One thing is certain, however, and that is that Lyon are less likely to be bullied in the media than on the pitch…

Gracias SMILE