It is the end of the Gérard Lopez era at Girondins de Bordeaux. The club has officially announced the signing of a sale agreement with Park Bench. The price is striking: a symbolic one euro. However, the new owner will also take on FCGB’s debts and must still clear several administrative and judicial hurdles before the club’s rescue is definitively confirmed.
Girondins de Bordeaux are changing hands. After weeks of uncertainty surrounding the club’s future, FCGB announced on Wednesday, September 30, that it had reached an agreement with Park Bench to take over the club previously owned by Gérard Lopez. The club confirmed the news in a statement: “This transaction has been agreed for a symbolic one euro, with the debts being taken over.” The symbolic price therefore does not mean Park Bench is acquiring Bordeaux without financial obligations.
Gérard Lopez leaves Bordeaux after five difficult years
The sale brings an end to five particularly difficult years under Gérard Lopez. He arrived in 2021 when Bordeaux were still playing in Ligue 1 and now leaves a club administratively relegated to Régional 1, the sixth tier of French football. The financial situation remains significant. According to AFP, the new continuation plan notably provides for the club’s debts to be reduced from around €26 million to approximately €13 million, with repayment spread over 12 years. Lopez has also reportedly waived a clause that could have allowed him to recover certain sums if the club’s financial situation improved in the future.
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The new owner, Park Bench, is an investment fund notably owned by James Bord and Evan Sofer and already involved in football. Park Bench holds stakes in Spanish club Cordoba and is the majority shareholder of Dunfermline Athletic, who play in Scotland’s second tier. However, despite the agreement signed with Lopez, Bordeaux’s long-term survival has not yet been fully secured. The new management must appear before the financial control commission of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Football League, which must approve both the change of ownership and the budget for the 2026-27 season.
Another crucial step awaits Bordeaux before the commercial court, which must approve the new continuation plan allowing the club to avoid judicial liquidation. If all these hurdles are cleared, Bordeaux will finally be able to focus on football. The Girondins hope to begin their Régional 1 season on October 17 against Bayonne’s reserve team before making up their postponed fixtures. The one-euro sale is therefore real and has been officially announced, but behind the symbolic price lies the takeover of a heavily indebted club and a huge rebuilding project for Park Bench. For Bordeaux, the deal marks the end of the Gérard Lopez era and perhaps the true beginning of their reconstruction.
