Girondins de Bordeaux will not be relegated to Ligue 2 after all, the club reports via official channels on Monday evening. The French club was moved back to the second level in France two weeks ago due to financial problems, but can remain active at the highest level. the DNCG has reversed the decision after the six-time champion of France appealed the penalty. Businessman Gerard Lopez has saved the club from its first relegation in thirty years.
Bordeaux was in the red due to the withdrawal of the majority shareholder last season. As a result, the tradition club was initially unable to bear the costs. The DNCG, the so-called financial police officer of French football, subsequently decided to ban the club from Ligue 1. After a presentation by Lopez, the DNCG decided on further reflection to withdraw the relegation. Angers, also banned from the top tier due to financial problems, will also remain in Ligue 1.
“We have reached an agreement,” a cheerful Lopez wrote in a press release Monday evening. “This decision comes with measures to monitor the club’s payroll, as well as an obligation to sell players before a takeover. But the club has been saved! It’s a great day for everyone in Bordeaux and we are now getting to work to to set up the sporting and economic project validated tonight.”
Bordeaux, which has won six league titles in its history and is one of the largest clubs in the country, saw the former owners of the American King Street appoint a manager in April who wanted to withdraw as a major shareholder. The company has accounted for an investment of 46 million euros per year since the acquisition in 2018 for 100 million euros. Last week, Bordeaux officials approved rental guarantees for the city-owned Matmut Atlantique stadium in Lopez.
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