The renowned French football club Girondins de Bordeaux has been sold for the nominal fee of one euro to the American investment fund Park Bench. This transfer comes in the wake of significant financial challenges that led to the club’s exclusion from professional football this summer, relegating it to the sixth tier after having played in the fourth tier the previous season.
The club, which has won six French championships, has been placed under judicial control twice since 2021, and Park Bench will inherit approximately 18 million euros in debt as part of the transaction.
Girondins de Bordeaux Sold for One Euro
This deal allows the club to avoid liquidation proceedings. Once the transaction receives approval from the relevant football authorities, Park Bench will take over from the current owner, Gerard Lopez, who has led the club for five years during a challenging period.
“FC Girondins de Bordeaux announces the signing of a sale-purchase contract between Gerard Lopez’s company, the current owner, and Park Bench. This transaction is finalized for the symbolic sum of one euro, which includes the assumption of debts. As part of the legal takeover process, buyers will be interviewed in the coming days by the Regional Management Control Commission of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Football League,” Bordeaux stated on social media.
This signing marks an important step for the future of FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Park Bench is an American investment firm led by Evan Sofer and James Bord, specializing in data analysis and software development, and also involved in football, owning stakes in the Spanish second-division team Cordoba and being the majority shareholder of Scottish second-tier club Dunfermline.
Girondins de Bordeaux has six domestic titles, with the last one won in the 2008-2009 season. The club also boasts four Coupe de France titles, three League Cups, and three Super Cups. They were the winners of the Intertoto Cup in the 1995-1996 season and are notably recognized as the club where legendary player Zinedine Zidane began his prominent football career, playing there from 1992 to 1996 before moving to Juventus and Real Madrid.
Recently, a Romanian player was part of Girondins de Bordeaux as well. In 2023, the French team paid 2 million euros to Farul Constanța for Alexi Pitu. He played for Bordeaux for one season in the second division, appearing in 44 matches, scoring one goal, and providing two assists. After his time at Bordeaux, he moved to Dunkerque, then to Vejle, and returned to UTA Arad this summer.
