Bordeaux, six times champions of France and the club where Zinedine Zidane made his name, will play in the sixth tier of French football this season. The club was sold last month for a symbolic one euro, and its new owners say the rebuilding can now begin.
Bordeaux, six-time champions of France, will play in the sixth tier of French football this season, Al Jazeera reported, citing the AFP news agency.
The Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional league confirmed the decision on Thursday, October 8.
Why They Were Sanctioned
Bordeaux were penalised in the summer for financial irregularities.
The club had failed to provide roughly €10 million ($11.6 million) needed for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 financial years, and to meet debt payments.
Sold for One Euro
Last month the club was sold for a symbolic one euro to Park Bench, a US-based investment group, which agreed to take on the remaining debt.
The regional league’s oversight commission approved the club’s recovery budget, and Bordeaux were then unanimously approved to play in Regional 1, the top regional division.
“Rebuilding can now begin,” said Dominique Delport, the new president chosen by Park Bench.
The Recovery Plan
- The new owners are due in commercial court on October 20 to ratify a new continuation plan
- The plan now runs over 12 years
- The club’s debt has been halved, from €26 million to €13 million
A Largely Amateur Team
The squad is now mostly amateur. The club is allowed to field five players on professional contracts, one of whom will be the former Ligue 1 striker Baptiste Guillaume.
How Far They Have Fallen
Bordeaux were once among France’s leading clubs.
- Zinedine Zidane, now France’s head coach, made his name there
- Academy products Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry played alongside Zidane in the 1998 World Cup-winning team
- Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana were part of the France midfield that won the 1984 European Championship
The decline has been steep:
- 2022: relegated to Ligue 2
- 2024: placed under judicial restructuring, losing professional status and the club’s highly rated academy
- 2026: confirmed in the sixth tier
The club’s stadium, the Matmut Atlantique, hosted football matches at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Image: Bordeaux’s Matmut Atlantique stadium during a European match in 2015 (file photo). Photo by Fantafluflu via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
