United States men’s national team (USMNT) goalkeeper Matt Turner is back playing for New England Revolution after leaving them in July 2022. He is on loan for a season at the Major League Soccer (MLS) side from Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Lyonnais.
And Turner has revealed why he left Lyon after permanently joining them last August.
USMNT Ace Sheds Light on Abrupt Lyon Exit Last Year
Last June, the French governing body, DNCG, relegated Lyon due to major financial issues. Lyon, however, appealed the DNCG’s decision, and their relegation was overturned on Jul. 9. But Lyon were forced to facilitate a mass exodus to raise funds before the DNCG’s decision was overturned.
They loaned out Turner to the New England Revolution on Aug. 2, a day after permanently signing him from Nottingham Forest, to lighten their wage bill. Speaking on the “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast, Turner provided a detailed account of his move to Lyon from Nottingham and how he was forced to leave on a temporary transfer.
“I was ready to turn the page and start a new journey and when the news dropped that the club was going to be relegated financially on my birthday, June 24th, I’m thinking, ‘Oh boy, here we go’. Like I didn’t really know what it meant but yeah, my agent kind of had a wind of it earlier,” the 52-cap USMNT international commented.
Turner, who made 10 MLS appearances for the Revs in 2025, said he was excited to play for Lyon last summer but understood the dire situation at the Ligue 1 club.
“It’s another opportunity for me to get in a new environment and try to prove myself. And they were selling their number one. So, it was all to play for in my mind. And, so when it came out that my transfer was the one that would sort of put them over the threshold of what was financially allowed, we had to find a solution,” Turner claimed.
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“Because I didn’t want that to be the case. If you are that person that puts the club in that position, you will, no matter what happens, like you could play worldly every single week… they could have been in Ligue 2 and you could have played every single game with a clean sheet and get them back to Ligue 1, you still wouldn’t be able to make that up,” he said.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper played in the New England Revolution’s 2026 MLS opening 4-1 loss against Nashville earlier on Sunday, Feb. 22. He will be hoping to improve his performances in the next few months to book a spot in the USMNT’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad.
