Former Champions League club Girondins de Bordeaux are set to be bought for just 86p by English investment firm Park Bench. The French club have been grappling with financial difficulties in recent years. Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group pulled out of a deal for the club two years ago.
From Ligue 1 to the sixth tier
Bordeaux currently play in the Regional 1 – the sixth tier of French football. The fallen giants were playing in France's top-tier Ligue 1 just five years ago against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Lyon.
The club have also featured in the Champions League and even reached the quarter-finals during the 2009/10 season. However, their future had been in the balance for months amid several failed takeover bids.
Debt renegotiation and sale details
But now Sud-Ouest, via The Sun, claim that they are being saved from liquidation from Park Bench. It is said that current owner Gerard Lopez will sell for just €1 (86p) in a bid to offload the club.
The sale will involve renegotiating Bordeaux's crippling debts, which will have to be paid over 12 years rather than 10. It is claimed that the value of the debt would also be reduced from €26million (£22m) to €13m (£11m).
The takeover was announced at the Tribunal de Commerce.
Notable players and Andy Carroll's experience
Bordeaux have had several notable players over the years, including Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry and Sylvain Wiltord.
Another is former England star Andy Carroll, who joined the club in 2024 and spent a season there until the end of the 2024/25 campaign. At the time, he admitted that his salary did not even cover his rent.
He said: “I won’t tell you the exact figure but to give you an idea, since I moved here, I rent a pretty little house and my salary is less than my rent.
“If I joined Bordeaux, it clearly wasn’t for the money. I had offers from elsewhere to play in Saudi Arabia, but that didn’t interest me.”
It is said that he earned just €1,614 (£1372.55) gross per month in the wine-loving city, which is less than €1,400 (£1200) after tax, according to L'Equipe.
That figure is below the French minimum wage of €1,801.80 (£1532.25) gross for a 35-hour work week, which actually classified Carroll as a part-time employee.
