Demoted by the National Management Control Directorate (DNCG) to National, the Girondins de Bordeaux are now fighting for their survival, after having experienced a descent into hell for six years.
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Chronicle of a fall. Administratively demoted to National by the National Management Control Directorate (DNCG) after having given up appealing the first decision on Tuesday, July 23, the Girondins de Bordeaux even fear a potential liquidation of the club, if its owner, Gérard Lopez, does not manage to raise sufficient funds to relaunch in the third tier of French football. The Bordeaux club, which has nevertheless played 69 seasons in the French elite, now sees its future written in dotted lines.
July 27, 2018: The Girondins come under the American flag
The starting point of this fall into hell was on July 27, 2018, when M6, owner of the club since 1999, decided to get rid of the Girondins de Bordeaux because of poor sporting and especially economic results. An American investment fund, General American Capital Partners (GACP), supported by the powerful King Street, took over the club, but only for a short period, applying only on the basis of financial interest.
A year later, the Girondins de Bordeaux finished the 2018-19 season with two coaching changes during the season and a 14th place, the worst ranking since 2005. The following two seasons, the Bordeaux team finished 12th, despite some financial efforts from the American owners, who recruited Rémi Oudin, Laurent Koscielny, and Mexer. But the Covid-19 crisis would definitively bury the ambitions of the American fund, which, in addition to starting an austerity policy to reduce the deficit, announced on April 22, 2021 that it “no longer wishes to support the club and finance its current and future needs”The Girondins are then placed under the protection of the commercial court, with a deficit of around 67 million euros.
July 23, 2021: Gérard Lopez buys the club at the last minute
This decision led to a first administrative demotion to Ligue 2 by the DNCG, pending the study of the six takeover projects. The club then appealed and obtained an additional period to allow Gérad Lopez, former manager of Lille and the Lotus Formula 1 team, to finalize his takeover. The Girondins de Bordeaux still remain supervised in terms of payroll and transfers. The Spanish-Luxembourgish entrepreneur assures that he is aiming for the top of the table, or even European places, within three seasons, as he announced to South West.
May 21, 2022: the Girondins are relegated to Ligue 2
The Bordeaux project is not really going as planned and the 2021-2022 season is even proving to be catastrophic. The Girondins conceded 91 goals in 38 matches, the worst total for a first division club since 1978. They logically finished 20th and last in Ligue 1 and were relegated for the first time since 1991. During This nightmare season, the club will have even lost its 44-year unbeaten streak against Olympique de Marseille at home after a 0-1 defeat.
June 14, 2022: DNCG sends the club to National for the first time
Beyond the sports ranking, the National Directorate of Management Control of French Football even decided to administratively demote the Girondins de Bordeaux to the National, due to a debt estimated at 52 million euros. Despite several financial maneuvers to convince the financial policeman to remain in Ligue 2, the body maintained its decision on July 5.
At the time, the club was already on the verge of disappearing.a financial situation that is too critical and could lead to a cessation of payments from July 2022. On the verge of filing for bankruptcy, and therefore seeing the club relegated to National 3, Gérard Lopez is appeal to the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and won the case, particularly after the sale of young striker Sékou Mara for 13 million euros to Southampton. The DNCG will still order the regulation of the wage bill and transfer fees, jeopardizing the arrival of the nine recruits announced by the president.
June 2, 2023: Bordeaux misses promotion to Ligue 1 after incident against Rodez
In Ligue 2 with a payroll that went from 30 million to 11 million euros in the space of a summer, the Girondins de Bordeaux managed to perform, despite a very complicated extra-sporting context. At the end of the season, the club was even well positioned to return to the elite with a final match to play against Rodez to confirm or not its rise. But an individual present in the stands of the Matmut Atlantique this evening of June 2, 2023 physically attacked Lucas Buades, RAF striker who had just opened the scoring, leading to the definitive end of the match.
The disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League punishes the Bordeaux team for losing the match by penalty, ending their hopes of returning to Ligue 1. This time, the appeal to the CNOSF changes nothing. Gérard Lopez is even forced to bail out the club’s coffers himself, in debt to the tune of 40 million euros, in order to ensure the club’s future in Ligue 2.
July 9, 2024: New financial downgrade and fear of disappearance
A year later, the Girondins de Bordeaux still have a hole of 40 million euros in their accounts and are doing even worse in terms of sport, since they finished 13th in Ligue 2, at the end of the 2023-24 season, after having ensured their survival two days before the end of the season. The DNCG again rules on an administrative relegation to National, for lack of financial guarantees. The Bordeaux club is appealing this decision, hoping to gain time to finalize its takeover by the American group Fenway Sports Group. Liverpool’s ownership group finally announced it was pulling out of negotiations on July 16.
Gérard Lopez then confides that the Girondins de Bordeaux are in “a critical situation” and raises the possibility of a “liquidation” and therefore of a “club disappearance”. While maintaining “do everything to avoid it”even if he does not wish to reinvest to fill the 42 million euros (excluding transfers) missing to return to Ligue 2. The other scenarios on the table range from a “last minute partner” able to provide the means to buy the club from sporting relegation (why not to National 2) to start again on healthier bases.
July 23: Bordeaux abandons its appeal before the DNCG and accepts relegation to National 1
While the club was due to have its appeal examined by the DNCG on Tuesday July 23, it announced in a press release that it had withdrawn its appeal due to “the absence of new elements”. Discussions, which had resumed with Fenway Sports Group, were again halted the day before.
“Consequently, FC Girondins de Bordeaux accepts the sanction of administrative demotion within the National 1 championship for the 2024-2025 season and will be summoned again to present its budget before the DNCG”specifies the club’s press release.