The Downfall of Bordeaux: How Financial Ruin and Ownership Troubles Led to the Collapse of the Six-Time French Football Champions

French football was left in disbelief and turmoil in July 2024 as the crisis surrounding Girondins de Bordeaux hit rock bottom.

The six-time Ligue 1 champions announced July 25 that they had filed for bankruptcy "to begin the necessary restructuring" of the club from top to bottom.

The decision meant Bordeaux had no choice but to forfeit their professional status and largely cease to exist — for the time being, at least — as a team in France's league pyramid. They ultimately started the 2024/25 season in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of professional French football.

The news came after the club had been relegated twice because of financial irregularities. They had initially planned to appeal against this but eventually withdrew that motion.

The story has been a sorry one for everyone concerned with Bordeaux, who were Ligue 1 champions as recently as 2009 and had celebrated their centenary year in 2020. So, what exactly has gone on?

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Bordeaux have been mired in financial difficulty for the past few years. They were badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of income suffered as a result of France's 2019/20 season being ended early and games being played without spectators.

These issues were exacerbated for clubs in France when Mediapro, the Spanish multimedia corporation, pulled out just months into a deal for Ligue 1 broadcast rights worth €780 million ($936.23m). Football in the country is still facing an uncertain future.

Bordeaux went into administration in April 2021 when King Street, their American owners, said they would no longer support the club financially after having invested around $53 million since taking over in December 2019. The club was sold to Luxembourgish-Spanish businessman Gerard Lopez in a move that they hoped would ensure they were "free to remain one of the most prestigious legacy clubs in Ligue 1".

Unfortunately, it did not work out that way. Bordeaux finished bottom of the top flight in 2021/22 and were relegated to Ligue 2 for the first time in 31 years. In June that year, the DNCG, which is the body responsible for overseeing French clubs' finances, relegated them to the Championnat National because of financial problems. Bordeaux successfully appealed against the decision, only to be administratively relegated again this year.

After initially appealing once more, Bordeaux accepted their fate. On July 25, they announced they had informed the French Football Federation (FFF) that they were giving up their status as a professional club — something they described as "an inevitable consequence of the ongoing restructuring process". They hoped to play in the Championnat National next season as a first step toward restoring the club "with healthy finances and renewed ambition to the highest level".

On August 31, 2024, they played their first game in their new surroundings. They drew 1-1 with Stade Poitevin after a last-gasp equaliser from goalkeeper Lassana Diabate.

Although Bordeaux's financial problems preceded his takeover in June 2021, much of the blame for their demise has been pinned on owner Gerard Lopez.

The chairman and co-founder of financial advisory firm Genii Capital, Lopez made a new dual venture into football in 2021 by purchasing Bordeaux and Portuguese club Boavista. He had previously run the Lotus team in Formula One from 2009 to 2015.

Lopez was engaged in a dispute with another Ligue 1 club, Lille, at the time of his Bordeaux takeover. He sent a letter to Lille threatening legal action over what he felt were unfair suggestions in the media that he had mishandled Lille. Lopez, who took over in 2016, sold Lille after pressure from creditors over debt concerns midway through the 2020/21 season, in which they won the French league title.

Bordeaux legend Lizarazu: "I am disgusted like everyone who loves this club."

"But what is happening is unfortunately the consequence of a disastrous sports and financial management for many years."

"Since Gerard Lopez's arrival, it has gone beyond understanding and… pic.twitter.com/EHGicJIwtE

Lopez was unable to inspire either on-pitch success or financial security at Bordeaux. Former France star Bixente Lizarazu, who played nearly 300 games for Bordeaux, said in an Instagram post that Lopez should leave for the long-term benefit of the club. He said: "I am disgusted, like everyone who loves this club. But what is happening is unfortunately the consequence of disastrous sporting and financial management over many years."

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Although they have not been one of the major forces in Ligue 1 in recent years, Bordeaux are six-time champions of France, most recently in 2009.

Their heyday came in the 1980s, when they won three league titles and two Coupes de France after being bankrolled by chairman Claude Bez. With a team featuring star players such as Jean Tigana and all-time top scorer Alain Giresse, they were largely the dominant force in France and reached the semifinal of the European Cup in 1985.

Administrative problems followed in the early 1990s, but they recovered to win the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1995.

Bordeaux have great history when it comes to producing top players through their academy.

Alain Giresse holds the club records for most games (592) and most goals (182) and was part of the France team that won Euro '84, along with former star striker Bernard Lacombe, who was signed in 1979 from Saint-Etienne.

In the 1990s, Zinedine Zidane — one of the greatest midfielders in history and the Ballon d'Or winner of 1998 — enjoyed his breakthrough years at Bordeaux. Lizarazu, his team-mate in France's victorious campaign in the 1998 World Cup, played nearly 300 games for the club.

More recently, Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and Barcelona defender Jules Kounde made their senior professional breakthroughs at Bordeaux. Tchouameni posted on X to say it was "difficult to accept the situation at the club of my heart" but that he was "certain that the future will offer us better days".