For many years, the messages of support on social networks from David Barbet concerning the record of Jean-Michel Aulas at Olympique Lyonnais had become a running gag for OL supporters. So much so that for many of them, JMA and this host for several Belgian media (including RTBF), a fan of the Lyon club, were one on Twitter (now X), where the president of OL is so present. The Olympique et Lyonnais site tells us this Wednesday that David Barbet, who made frequent “insider” tweets during the end of the Aulas era in Lyon, but also strong criticism against John Textor’s OL in recent days , was in fact paid by the club.
With his status as an “influencer” (more than 9,000 subscribers on long months the downgrading of the club, currently 17th in Ligue 1 after having missed Europe in three of the last four seasons. According to Olympique and Lyonnais, David Barbet was paid by OL Groupe as part of a three-month mission in 2022.
“The string was particularly thick and counterproductive”
He was thus required to define OL’s video content strategy and ensure monitoring of all matters concerning OL Groupe and Jean-Michel Aulas. A decision that would have been taken unilaterally by JMA and imposed on its teams. “The string was particularly thick and counterproductive, no one is fooled by this type of process,” explains a former close friend of Aulas to Olympique et Lyonnais about this collaboration with an “influencer”. Behind the pseudo-scoops of David Barbettthere was always Jean-Michel Aulas for at least three months, and for the tidy sum of 4,000 euros per month, or a total of 12,000 euros excluding tax.
A more active return to business by David Barbet would have been in the pipeline last spring, but the ousting of Jean-Michel Aulas by John Textor on May 8 obviously put an end to this prospect. The TV and radio host did not wish to comment on this information, which will further damage the results of JMA’s last seasons at the head of an OL in distress.