A monument of French football leaves the front of the stage. Officially relegated at the end of the last day, Saturday May 21, the Girondins de Bordeaux will evolve in Ligue 2 for the first time since 1992. A descent which comes to punctuate a nightmarish season, where the team was not at the level on the field, while controversies off the lawn made the atmosphere poisonous.
However, the Bordeaux galleys began well before the 2021-2022 financial year. The team has not qualified for European competition in the past three seasons, despite having done so 13 times since 2000. Since the club was taken over by an American investment fund in the fall of 2018 , the Navy and White went from being a European team to the depths of the rankings. A look back at five symbolic dates of this decline.
November 6, 2018: GACP takes over the reins of a club that is still European
In November 2018, after 19 years under the fold of M6, Bordeaux was bought by the American investment fund General American Capital Partners (GACP) after several months of negotiations. “A news [page] opens” for Bordeaux, notes the former owner Nicolas de Tavernost.
A page turns for M6, a new one opens for the FCGB. I wish the new management team much success and thank all the Girondins for these 19 years. We have experienced moments of unforgettable collective emotion and I will remain a fervent supporter of @girondins pic.twitter.com/g4meTVmLSX
— Nicolas de Tavernost (@ndetavernost) November 6, 2018
The change comes after a tormented start to the season. Uruguayan coach Gustavo Poyet was fired in August, and the team remains stuck in the soft underbelly of the championship, even if it is still qualified in the Europa League group stage. Bordeaux played their last European match on December 13, 2018, against FC Copenhagen (1-0 victory in Denmark), a few weeks after the arrival of GACP.
Autumn 2019: distrust wins over supporters, King Street ousts GACP
The start of the 2019-2020 season is more exciting on the field. Bordeaux remains in contact with European markets almost until the truce. Behind the scenes, on the other hand, the tension does not weaken. Supporters are starting to rise up against the club, especially after a ticketing problem which would have deprived some fans of taking places in the South corner.
Above all, the financial health of the Girondins worries more and more (deficit of 25 million in 2018-2019 according to the LFP). The majority shareholder King Street announces, on December 16, 2019, the buyout of the minority shares of GACP, and affirms its wish to register for the long term in Gironde.
May 2020: the “Bordeaux Leaks” plunge the club into a new crisis
While football is on hiatus throughout France due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Girondins de Bordeaux are still talking about them. In early May 2020, the group of Ultramarines supporters unveiled audio recordings from strategic meetings at the head of the club. They particularly target the deputy president, Frédéric Longuépée, and the ticketing manager, Antony Thiodet, who are highly contested. The ultras are thus seeking to denounce what they consider to be poor management of the club internally: ticketing problems, sponsorship of amateur clubs for money… Relations between fans and management are not far from have reached a point of no return.
April-May 2021: first sports cold sweats, King Street lets go
At the end of the 2020-2021 season, the Girondins tasted the stress of the maintenance race for the first time. In the final sprint, the club spent two days in 16th place, five points from the play-off, with only a few days left. He finally finished 12th.
At the same time, a shocking announcement came at the end of April: Bordeaux announced that King Street “no longer wishes to support the club and finance its current and future needs”. Consequently, the FCGB is placed under the protection of the Commercial Court of Bordeaux. The door is open to a takeover offer, to avoid receivership. She arrives in June, thanks to the Hispano-Luxembourg businessman Gérard Lopez.
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The takeover by the former boss of Lille is validated by the commercial court in July. It allows the Girondins, in the sights of the DNCG, to avoid administrative demotion.
February 17, 2022: Bordeaux adrift, David Guion arrives
After the layoff of Vladimir Petkovic, dismissed after seven months in office while Bordeaux are red lantern in Ligue 1, the club appoints David Guion to succeed him. The former Rémois arrives in Gironde as a firefighter on duty with a clear objective: to hang on to maintenance.
The failure is total and the numbers are terrible. Since his arrival on the bench, Bordeaux has only won twice (3-1 against Metz on the 31st day and 4-2 against Brest on the last day). The team has the worst defense in the major European leagues (91 goals). Guion even became the Girondins coach with the lowest point-per-game ratio (0.78) in club history.
March 2022: the “Costil affair” agitates a locker room in bad shape
In difficulty on the ground since the start of the season, Bordeaux offers itself a new extra-sporting controversy at the end of March. While the Girondins try to end a series of six games without a win by receiving Montpellier, an altercation breaks out at half-time between Benoît Costil and a leader of the Ultramarines. The group accuses the former Rennais of racism, without substantiating his remarks.
The name of Laurent Koscielny, whose contract was terminated in January, is also mentioned in the charges. The chasm widens between the ultras and the players, who unite behind their teammates. On the ground, the slump continues. Bordeaux is heading straight for Ligue 2.
May 2022: the team is officially relegated to Ligue 2
After going forty-five minutes from demotion when Saint-Etienne led (2-0) in Nice on Wednesday May 11, before losing (4-2), the ax fell on Saturday May 21. Despite a last victory with heart and courage against Brestois who had nothing left to play (4-2), the Bordelais finished in 20th and last place in the standings, and were officially relegated to the second division, where they will evolve next season.