August 5 – Former French champions Bordeaux, who recently went into receivership, have been dealt an even more bitter blow than anticipated after being demoted to the fourth-tier National 2 – one division lower than expected.
Last month the club filed for bankruptcy and dropped their pro team status just days after they were relegated to the third tier of French football and the American owners of Liverpool withdrew from takeover talks.
Bordeaux then announced two days later it would become an amateur club for the first time in almost 90 years.
Now, however, they have been dropped down a further division by France’s federal financial watchdog DNCG and need to find €40 million to balance the books.
The body cited the French league’s (LFP) regulations, which stipulate a club in receivership must be “demoted to the division immediately below the one for which it would have qualified for the following season”.
As well as abandoning the professional status they have held since 1937, Bordeaux, one of France’s most iconic clubs but who last season finished 12th in the second-division Ligue 2, are having to close their renowned training academy. All current players and staff will be released from their contracts, with players gaining free agent status and eligible to sign with any club.
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