Ex-Leeds and Everton star once sued Donald Trump over failed hotel project

Updated: 23 Nov, 2025 • 0 • min read

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Ex-Leeds and Everton star once sued Donald Trump over failed hotel project

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Former Everton and Leeds United midfielder Olivier Dacourt once left Donald Trump red-faced after successfully suing the US President over a failed luxury hotel project.

The 51-year-old Frenchman spent two seasons in the Premier League before enjoying spells with AS Roma, Inter Milan, and Fulham.

But away from the pitch, one of his boldest moves came years after retirement by taking Trump to court and winning.

From Goodison to the Courtroom

Dacourt first arrived in England with Everton in 1998, quickly making an impression before a return to France with Lens.

He came back just a year later, joining Leeds, where he became a fan favourite in David O'Leary's exciting young side that reached the 2001 Champions League semi-finals.

After stints across Europe, Dacourt retired and invested in property.

One of those investments was in Trump SoHo, a planned luxury 46-storey hotel in Manhattan in 2010.

Dacourt and fellow investors, around 30 in total, put down hundreds of thousands of dollars each, with the Frenchman contributing around $460,000 towards a $2.3 million unit.

But when the ambitious project failed to materialise, the group alleged they had been misled by inflated sales claims made by Trump, his children, and business partners.

Trump Settles - Rarely Seen

Despite famously saying he never settles lawsuits, "I don't settle lawsuits, very rare, because once you settle, everybody sues you," Trump eventually agreed to return the vast majority of the $3.16 million in deposits that investors had paid.

Whilst refusing to admit wrongdoing, the settlement ended a criminal investigation, with Dacourt and the other claimants agreeing not to co-operate further.

Dacourt Reflects on Taking on a Future President

Speaking to FourFourTwo back in 2023, Dacourt admitted he never imagined the case would end up involving the man who would later become President of the United States.

As investors we bought some apartments in Manhattan, but there was a lot of trouble with it so we sued Trump because he was the previous owner.

There were around 30 of us. Of course, we didn't know that we were suing the future president of America!

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