Girondins de Bordeaux, one of the most historic and successful clubs in French football, has confirmed it has filed for bankruptcy after years of financial struggles, meaning it is set to become an amateur outfit.
Bordeaux’s announcement yesterday (Thursday) evening comes with the club’s situation reaching breaking point in recent weeks. Earlier this week, Bordeaux announced that it would accept relegation from Ligue 2, where it finished 12th last season, to the third tier Championnat National, which had been set out by French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG.
The AFP news agency said Bordeaux needs to find around €40m (£33.7m/$43.4m) to balance its books, with local newspaper Sud Ouest adding it will appear before the Bordeaux Commercial Court on Tuesday to request the opening of a judicial recovery procedure that will freeze all debts, currently said to amount to around €90m.
Bordeaux’s controversial owner, Gérard Lopez, has controlled the club since June 2021 after reaching an agreement to save it from being placed into receivership. Bordeaux had been placed under the protection of the Bordeaux Commercial Court after US investment fund King Street withdrew its funding amid continued financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lopez’s deal with Bordeaux marked the businessman’s return to Ligue 1 after he sold Lille OSC in December 2020. Lopez left Lille with the club reportedly in deep debt, and now Bordeaux is facing up to giving up professional status it has held since 1937.
Ahead of yesterday’s announcement, Bordeaux had been in talks with Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the US entity which owns Premier League club Liverpool, as well as MLB’s Boston Red Sox and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
FSG and Bordeaux confirmed earlier this month that they had begun talks over a possible takeover, only for the former to ultimately end negotiations just days later, blaming the “general economic context of French football”.
Before the emergence of interest from FSG, Lopez was reportedly hoping to secure a loan of between €80m and €100m over six years from a minority investor, only to then switch strategy to pursue a sale of his majority stake in the club.
Bordeaux won the last of its six Ligue 1 titles as recently as 2008-09, but suffered relegation from the top division at the end of the 2021-22 season. The club said in a statement: “Given the very short deadlines before the start of the National 1 season, the club had to give up requesting the maintenance of its professional status, failing which it would have had to appear again before the DNCG with a budget that did not correspond to the future reality of the club, which could have led to additional heavy sanctions.
“This is a difficult decision that anticipates an inevitable consequence of the restructuring process underway. If the training centre closes as a result, the club will continue to promote youth teams.
“The effort to be transparent with the French football authorities about what the club’s real situation will be in the days and weeks to come must in particular make it possible to limit the sporting consequences of this situation, the club’s objective being to play in National 1 next season.
“This would allow, as quickly as possible, the club’s return, with healthy finances and renewed ambition, to the highest level.”
Bordeaux plays at the 42,115-capacity Matmut Atlantique, France’s sixth biggest stadium. The venue, which is owned by the City of Bordeaux, opened in 2015 and is currently hosting football games during the 2024 Olympic Games.
Bordeaux pulled in average attendances of 21,632 for Ligue 2 games last season, amid record figures across the French game. It will reportedly continue to play its games at Matmut Atlantique.
Reacting to yesterday’s news, the Mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, told AFP: “I’ve learnt with consternation the sudden and personal decision made by Gérard Lopez. It confirms the risky management that has led our club in the space of three years from the elite Ligue 1 to the amateur level.”
