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.
