Ligue 1 side Lens President Gervais Martel has insisted a new investor will inject €15M ($17.2M) in the "much troubled club" -- currently in last place in Ligue 1 and set to be relegated to Ligue 2 for next season -- "to keep Lens afloat in France's second division Ligue 2 after majority shareholder Hafiz Mammadov defaulted," according to Samindra Kunti of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. To sustain itself in Ligue 2 Lens will need €15M. Martel's club does not "have the money at the moment" and has a hearing at the league's National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG) on May 26. Martel: "It's €15 million. That's what I am going to show to the DNCG. I am going to channel the money through my holding, GIM2. That's the world turned upside down, but I am substituting Mammadov, who can't deal with his responsibilities. He has to accept to be of lesser importance in relation to a new investor in the club's capital or he has to agree to cede his shares because he can't meet his commitments. I can't say more about this European investor. I will announce his name when the time comes" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 5/15).
