Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has revealed his side were offered the chance to sign Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool last month, but passed on taking the defender.
Sakho was frozen out of the first team picture at Liverpool last summer and did not play a single minute of senior team football in the current campaign before his January exit.
The centre-back was linked with a number of clubs, but eventually joined Crystal Palace on loan until the end of the campaign.
He could have easily ended up back in his native France though, Aulas has revealed.
Speaking on French radio station RMC, Aulas said: "We had an opportunity with a left-footed defender available in England, who was Mamadou Sakho.
relatedNewsStory
"We did not choose this solution because we are faithful in terms of the management with [Nicolas] Nkoulou and [Emanuel] Mammana."
Sakho's future is still unclear as Crystal Palace are fighting relegation from the Premier League and may not push to sign him permanently if they drop down into the Championship due to his high salary and Liverpool looking for a hefty transfer fee.
He has not yet made his Palace debut.
