Blanc: “Just before the match, strange, right? If Lyon are interested in Gourcuff, I’ll say that it’s in his interest to have a really good match so that Lyon will have reason to buy him.”

Triaud: “We shouldn’t get paranoid. Aulas just responded to specific questions about Gourcuff. I’d tell Aulas that Bordeaux finds Benzema very interesting…And Gourcuff at any price? If that’s the case, I’ll take the option [to buy from Milan] and then sell him to Lyon for six times as much.”

But no mention of Bordeaux wanting Gourcuff for themselves, except to say that while the option is there, it remains to be seen.

Jennifer: Of course Bordeaux can survive without Gourcuff. They didn’t have him last season, and they did well. But with Gourcuff they are even better. They have the chance to build a really strong team here. To become CL challengers (as opposed to flops) and title contenders. Making a big purchase will be difficult, but they have to take that step if they want to become a big club, like how Lyon did with Sonny Anderson. And here they have this amazing player who might be willing to stay. Let’s face it, players like Gourcuff won’t normally consider playing in France, and even fewer would should up on Triaud’s door, not when Lyon and Marseille are around.

Shazback: Plus don’t forget to add Trezeguet, Camoranesi, Mancini, and van Nistelrooy to that lineup. You have to admit, he has very ambitious fantasies. What else can you expect from a guy who says that he’d like to be reincarnated as Jesus one day. Though I have to say, Aulas really was close on Eto’o when he was at Mallorca. It’s probably the biggest mistake he’s ever made when it comes to transfers.

Aditya: Escude may have gone to Ajax because they offered CL football, which none of the other French clubs did. I’m not sure though, I will have to check. As for Brechet, he’s always had a lot of wanderlust and just felt the need to move before he got too useless. As for Puygrenier, it was a money move, plain and simple. But I agree, I think French players leaving France for a smaller league is really sad. Like Diakhate who went to Ukraine and Kim who went to QATAR of all places, just for their paychecks.

Anyway, pretty much every club had talked with Gourcuff before he left… It’s not like Lyon and Milan were the only ones that turned up, and Lyon were dead unlucky. PSG, Arsenal, Ajax Amsterdam, Sevilla, Tottenham, Werder Bremen, Marseille… Every club that was rising then wanted him to sign, and presidents/scouts/managers were talking with Dreossi almost weekly about Gourcuff…

Not really surprising from Aulas though. I’d love to see what his team would look like if he had managed to sign all the players he claims he was “that close” to signing… Eto’o in attack with Pauleta, Ribery on one wing, Gourcuff in central midfield to partner Lassanna Diarra, Kompany as full-back, Heinze as well as Garay in central defence, and then somewhere for Reyes, Palacio, Saviola… I might be forgetting some players, but I think it’s safe to say Lyon were “that close” to buying a CL-winning team.