“There is a risk of bankruptcy”, the situation is tense in Bordeaux according to its president Gérard Lopez

“Are the Girondins de Bordeaux today in Ligue 2? Actually, the answer is no. Do the Girondins de Bordeaux believe in it? Clearly yes. We have to work to be there. “Guest, this Tuesday, of the program Rothen ignites on RMC, Gérard Lopez, the president and owner of the Girondins de Bordeaux explained the difficulty of the economic situation of the club with which he was confronted, a deficit of 40 M € who sends him for the moment in National 1 after the passage of the DNCG, the financial policeman of the Professional Football League. A situation that the Luxembourg leader says he has foreseen.

“We anticipated on several levels,” he underlines. The first is that we knew the deficit and we knew how to make up for it. I had promised to stay at the club even if we went to Ligue 2 and that’s what I’m doing. I put my hand in my pocket (Editor’s note: around 10 M€). There’s money coming in from the League (with relegation help) and then there’s about half that would come from player sales. »

Or €22 million. “It always happens like that with the DNCG, specifies the Bordeaux leader. All the clubs sell and what is needed is to give a guarantee on the sales. Of course there is a risk of filing for bankruptcy. As long as there is no agreement, there is clearly this risk. In the eyes of Gérard Lopez, the only possibility of raising the bar is to go back to Ligue 1 as quickly as possible.

“When we took over the club, it had huge losses, between 75-80 M€, he underlines. We managed to cut costs last year, we’re still making a big cut now, but the only way to work is through sportsmanship and going up. It is the objective. The idea is to build a workforce with Ligue 2 compatible players, experienced and with character. There are players who are committed to us morally and verbally but the situation makes it complicated for contracts. »