It was with a firm “no” and without hesitation that Gérard Lopez answered the question if he personally considered that his team was already in Ligue 2 after their new defeat against OGC Nice. (0-1). The owner and president of the Girondins de Bordeaux therefore still wants to “believe in it” like his coach David Guion. At the same time, they cannot say anything else for the moment since mathematically it is still possible with four and six points behind the play-off (Saint-Etienne) and the first non-relegation player (Clermont) three days before the end of the season. That’s for the official version.
But in reality, behind the scenes as in the stands of the Matmut Atlantique, almost no one believes it anymore. You had to see the resignation of some supporters this Sunday afternoon. As if everyone had understood and was finally only waiting for the sentence after a season in hell. “I am sad”, admits for his part a Gérard Lopez dejected in front of the press. Today, there is clearly only one miracle that can save the Marine et Blancs from a descent into Ligue 2, 30 years after the last one. With a question in the background: can the Girondins financially survive a demotion?
Gérard Lopez really on an ejection seat?
A few months ago, the answer was no. It was either maintenance or filing for bankruptcy and a descent to N3. Even general manager Thomas Jacquemier had publicly acknowledged this: “There is no life in Ligue 2 for the Girondins”! Since then, the discourse has been a little less radical in the corridors of the Château du Haillan. “It’s not totally infeasible. There is a possibility of setting up a business plan even if the planets will have to align, ”says a person close to the management. This same person goes even further: “Sportingly of course it’s a disaster but it takes so much money to stay in Ligue 1 that it’s maybe, I’m saying maybe, the right time to go down and go all the way in the restructuring of the club. “Starting from scratch like neighboring Toulouse and hoping for an immediate comeback.
It would still be necessary for Gérard Lopez to keep control of the club. If he reaffirmed this Sunday that he “would still be there in the event of a descent”, the Hispano-Luxembourg businessman does not control everything. He may be part owner of the club in the scapular, he remains like in Lille at the mercy of his creditors, King Street and Fortress, recently explained South West. The two American investment funds notably agreed to lend him money last summer during the takeover of the club to save him while reducing previous debts. It is absolutely not neutral. But as the entourage of the Bordeaux president points out, “they have no interest in doing that [écarter Gérard Lopez] and it’s not the same situation as at Losc where Elliott wanted to buy the club. Despite the arrival of a new fund, Merlyn Partners, when Gérard Lopez left Lille, Elliott would also remain very present in the Dogues structure as explained The Team.
In Bordeaux, King Street and Fortress would therefore not be in this process. It remains to be seen whether the two funds could end up dropping the case and withdraw in the event of a descent into Ligue 2? A clause exists, it provides in particular for the acceleration of the repayment of their debts in the event of demotion. But there too, those close to Lopez say creditors have no interest in doing this. On the one hand, they would never get their money back and they have already lost a lot of it since their arrival in the capital of the club in 2018. On the other hand, Fortress, a recognized fund, would be very concerned about its image unlike King Street. Its leaders do not want to be responsible for the disappearance of one of the biggest French clubs. This is one of the reasons why they agreed to put their hands in their pockets a few months ago.
A hole to plug from 40 to 45 million euros
Once we’ve said that, we still have to complete the round table to be able to return to Ligue 2. Little good news in this slump, the Girondins have no tax and social debt, which is rare for a company in great financial difficulty. Despite this, it will be necessary to plug a hole of 40 to 45 million euros in the event of a descent according to information from 20 minutes. To achieve this, Thomas Jacquemier and Gérard Lopez’s teams have been multiplying meetings for a few weeks. They intend to play on four levers to make ends meet: financial debt, transfers, the internal reorganization of the club and the “help” of the LFP (Professional Football League). For the first, management hopes to “rework” it with its creditors, in particular by postponing certain financial deadlines. At this stage, there have been no concrete discussions with Fortress and King Street.
As for the transfer window, it has already been indicated to Admar Lopez, the sports director of the Girondins, that he should sell for at least 20 million euros next summer. And again, that’s a low estimate. It’s both a little and a lot when reading the Bordeaux season. For internal reorganization, it is actually a social plan that does not say its name. We would be talking about more than a hundred layoffs within a completely oversized club (nearly 300 employees) for a decade compared to sports results.
Finally, the Girondins will receive aid of 7 million euros from the LFP to cushion the drop in income in the event of a descent and a check for 16.5 million euros on the occasion of the arrival of the investment fund CVC. in French football. Moreover, we do not hide it from Haillan, “it is thanks to this money that we can develop a plan for Ligue 2 otherwise it would surely have been mission impossible”. Last important data to take into account at this stage, this “Ligue 2 plan” is not dependent on the arrival of new investors in the capital of the club. If Gérard Lopez continues to discuss with possible future partners, he would not need them for the moment to succeed in completing his round of funding.
Too early to talk about the athlete
At the sporting level, it is still the big blur. It is very difficult to guess the contours of the workforce in the event of a descent. Many players have arrived this season and many on loan. Some have almost compulsory options like Mangas or Mensah while others have Ligue 2 clauses in their contract (Guilavogui, Marcelo or Ahmehdozic). There are also “small” market values like Elis, Hwang, Onana or even Oudin who will surely pack their bags to replenish the coffers of the Girondins.
As a reminder, the club has the right to collectively reduce the wages of its players by 20% in the event of demotion. He can even offer an even bigger reduction to certain players depending on their salary. In this case, the latter can refuse and then be released in their contract. In the meantime, the Girondins are still in Ligue 1 this Monday morning. And before hoping for a financial miracle, there is still a sporting miracle possible.