Olympique Lyonnais: "Clubs have become marketing platforms serving brands" (T. Chatelard)

"The long-term sustainability of a partnership rests on three key pillars. First and foremost, our ability to address our partners’ objectives: today, clubs have become marketing platforms serving brands. We must then ensure that the partnership evolves in line with those objectives, because a sponsorship agreement is not a static relationship. Lastly, we have moved from providing a set of commercial rights to playing an advisory role. Today, clubs are almost brand activation consulting agencies. It is no longer enough simply to implement the contract: we must also put forward a number of innovative ideas to our brand partners," Thibaut Chatelard, senior vice president, marketing & revenue at Olympique Lyonnais (Ligue 1 McDonald's), told News Tank on 1 July 2026.

He spoke a few days after…