Guingamp President Responds to Gérard Lopez

“Opening your mouth when you’re not taking risks is super easy (…) This gentleman, how much money has he put into French football? Nothing. He retained some, he gets paid every month. I did, so I have no lessons to learn from someone who gets paid every month to then speak on a subject like that”. This is what Gérard Lopez said to the president of Guingamp, Frédéric Legrand, in an interview where the owner of the Girondins de Bordeaux wanted to settle his scores. A tackle which, however, did not leave the person concerned unmoved.

Contacted by The Team and while Bordeaux still owes money to Guingamp, the boss of the EAG is out of his depth. “I have no lessons to learn from this gentleman. I am here, clearly, to defend the interests of my club. I have been at En-Avant for 41 years, 25 of which as a volunteer. So I know the value of money. Mr. Lopez’s investments are not my problem, but there is a basic rule in business: when you make purchases, you pay your suppliers. And so this gentleman owes 3.6 million euros to three French clubs today. Bordeaux owes us 400,000 euros which represents the last of the three deadlines agreed upon during the transfer. When you owe someone money, you pay. Otherwise, we don’t bring her back. He was the only president at the time in Ligue 2 who didn’t speak to anyone. Even when we went to his stadium, he just greeted us at the start of the match and left afterwards”. Ambiance…