In recent years, the French football club Bordeaux has been grappling with severe financial difficulties.
Once considered one of France’s football giants, Bordeaux now faces a challenging period as they prepare to drop down to the third tier of French football.
The club had pinned their hopes on a takeover by Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), to stave off relegation.
Unfortunately for Bordeaux, FSG decided to back out of the deal.
This left the club with no option but to accept their demotion.
In a statement released on Tuesday morning, Bordeaux explained, “Although discussions had picked up recently, FSG informed us on Monday, July 22, that they would not proceed with the takeover despite previous assurances.
Consequently, Bordeaux has withdrawn its appeal against the DNCG’s July 9, 2024, decision.
As a result, the club will be relegated to the National 1 Championship for the 2024/2025 season.
We will be required to present our budget to the DNCG again.
The club remains committed to recovering and coming back stronger.”
A Storied Past in Decline
Bordeaux, who have won Ligue 1 six times with their last title coming in the 2008-09 season, once made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League before being eliminated by Lyon.
However, the club has faced a significant decline over the years.
In 2021, Bordeaux fell into administration after American investors King Street pulled their financial support, citing a drop in revenue linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the bankruptcy of TV rights holder Mediapro.
Businessman Gérard Lopez took over the club in June 2021, but his first season saw Bordeaux suffer their first relegation in over three decades.
Further Relegations and No Appeal
The summer of 2022 brought another blow as Bordeaux faced relegation to France’s semi-professional Championnat National due to their ongoing financial issues.
Though they won an appeal and were reinstated into Ligue 2, they have now been relegated again after two seasons in the second tier.
This time, the club has chosen not to appeal the decision.
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