Global pop star Taylor Swift could give Ligue 1 strugglers Lyon a major headache at the end of the season following their disastrous start to the campaign.
The seven-time French champions, who have ex-Premier League stars Alexandre Lacazette and Dejan Lovren in their ranks, have won just one of their opening 13 league matches, and currently sit bottom of the table in France’s top division.
Having parted ways with Laurent Blanc in September, they sacked former World Cup winner Fabio Grosso last week and are now looking for their third manager of the season after placing Pierre Sage in interim charge.
They are in real danger of being relegated this term, and their task of staying up could be made even more difficult by Swift.
This is due to the fact that the 33-year-old has sold-out concerts at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium on Sunday, June 2 and Monday, June 3, which coincides with the second leg of the Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-off, which is always played at home by the Ligue 1 side.
Taylor Swift has sold-out concerts at Lyon’s stadium that coincide with the Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-off
Swift is set to play at the Groupama Stadium, which holds just shy of 60,000 fans on consecutive nights next June
Bottom club Lyon could be forced to find an alternative venue if they are involved in this fixture
Lyon sit bottom of the Ligue 1 and are looking for a third manager of the season after sacking Fabio Grosso (pictured) last week
The relegation/promotion play-off is played between the 16th-placed team in Ligue 1 and the winner of the Ligue 2 promotion play-offs.
Lyon would need to climb two places in the table to get into 16th, but there is a realistic possibility that this could happen.
Lyon bosses had scheduled the concerts to increase the club’s revenue having not expected their team to be involved in a relegation battle.
However, this gamble could backfire massively come the end of the season.
Suffering relegation would be a huge fall from grace for Lyon after they made the semi-finals of the Champions League just three years ago, beating Manchester City on their way to the last four.
With Swift’s gigs locked in, Lyon could be left looking for an alternative venue to play their home fixture in the relegation play-off if they finish 16th.
This would take away their home advantage at a crucial point in the season if they are fighting to stay in Ligue 1 next summer.