Faced with a deep financial and sporting crisis, Girondins de Bordeaux formalized its sale for a symbolic euro to the Park Bench fund, which will take on the institution's debts
Few clubs represent a decline as pronounced as that of the Girondins de Bordeaux. An institution founded in 1881, six-time champions of France and recognized for having featured figures of the stature of Zinedine Zidane, has been going through a serious crisis that has taken it to the sixth tier of French football for years. Now, amid this complex scenario, it has changed ownership for a figure as symbolic as it is striking: one euro.
The team itself officially announced the operation this Wednesday through a statement published on its social media. "FC Girondins de Bordeaux announces the signing of a transfer agreement between the company of Gérard Lopez, the current owner of the club, and Park Bench", the institution reported.
The club detailed that the agreement was finalized for "one symbolic euro with the assumption of debts" and explained that there is still one step left to complete the procedure for the transfer to be formally concluded. "As part of the legal possession procedure, the buyers will be interviewed in the coming days by the regional management control commission of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Football League", it concluded.
Regarding the impact that the change of hands will have, the Girondins emphasized the importance of the agreement in trying to steer the future of the institution and stated: "This signing marks a major milestone for the future of FC Girondins de Bordeaux".
The operation brings an end to the management of Gérard Lopez, who took control of the French team in 2021. Since then, rather than reversing the situation, the club was relegated from Ligue 1 to Ligue 2 in 2022 and subsequently suffered further administrative sanctions related to its economic problems.
Gerard López will conclude his management of Girondins de Bordeaux
The deterioration deepened in 2024 when Bordeaux entered a judicial restructuring process, lost its professional status, and significantly reduced the structure that had sustained it for decades. Ultimately, it was excluded from the national categories and is currently competing in Régional 1, the sixth division of French football.
The financial situation was decisive in this decline. The DNCG determined that the club had not presented sufficient economic guarantees to ensure its participation in national competitions during the 2026/27 season, while its debts continued to affect institutional life.
In this scenario, the investment fund Park Bench appears, which, in addition to assuming ownership, will have to take on the economic commitments of the Girondins. The operation includes a debt restructuring: the 26 million euros linked to the entity's obligations would be reduced to 13 million and the repayment period would be extended from ten to twelve years.
The Girondins de Bordeaux will be taken over by the investment group Park Bench
The agreement also establishes a condition for Lopez. The current owner will waive any right to recover those amounts in case the club manages to improve its economic situation in the coming years. In this way, his departure from the institution will be definitive and he will not retain a claim on that money in the event of a potential recovery.
For Bordeaux, this represents a new attempt to start over after years of sporting and financial setbacks. The next step will be the interview of the buyers before the Regional Management Control Commission, a prerequisite within the process of taking possession of one of the most traditional institutions in French football.
