Football
Mark Rodden 8y

Lyon blame media for Alexandre Lacazette 'criticism' of club - Aulas

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says that Alexandre Lacazette's criticism of club staff is a "non-event" since the player feels he was misrepresented by the media.

In a candid interview with L'Equipe on Monday, Lacazette, 24, said he was "hurt and disappointed" by Aulas' behaviour during contract negotiations this summer.

The reigning Ligue 1 Player of the Year signed a new deal with OL before the start of the new campaign, but the French league's top scorer last season has struggled for form since.

The France striker has been hampered by a back problem and revealed that he was also unhappy with Lyon manager Hubert Fournier for a perceived lack of support in recent weeks.

Speaking after Lyon's 1-0 Champions League defeat against Valencia on Tuesday, Aulas said Lacazette had been "had a little bit" in his dealings with the media.

"We had an exchange with Alexandre, with his agent, who categorically disputes the content of the interview," Aulas told BeIN Sports.

"I think it really is a non-event. Unfortunately sometimes the media want to make the front page themselves. So there's absolutely no problem with Alex -- he's a lovely young man.

"It's true that for one of the first times he negotiated his contract this summer. He received practically everything he wanted.

"It's true that he maybe had a few things to say but in any case not in the way they were presented.

"So there's no story. The guys know that we don't joke around here... That when you make statements that aren't good, we have a certain number of potential sanctions.

"That's absolutely not the case with Alexandre Lacazette."

Vincent Duluc, one of two L'Equipe journalists whose byline appeared on the interview with Lacazette, indicated on Twitter that in 35 years in the job he had never fabricated a story.

Following the publication of the interview, Fournier said on Monday that he would need to have a "constructive" discussion with Lacazette in private.

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