Six-time French champions Bordeaux will play this season in the sixth tier of French football, the regional Nouvelle-Aquitaine league confirmed on Thursday, sealing one of the most dramatic falls in European football history. The club where Zinedine Zidane made his name was sanctioned in the summer for financial irregularities.
Bordeaux were punished for failing to provide the roughly 10 million euros ($11.6 million) needed for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years and to meet debt payments. Two days after appearing before the league's oversight commission, which approved the club's recovery budget and issued a positive opinion on its possible participation in Regional 1, the club was unanimously approved to play in the top regional tier.
A one-euro sale
Last month, Bordeaux were sold for a symbolic one euro to US-based investment group Park Bench, a data analytics and software company that agreed to take on the remaining debt. Dominique Delport, the new president chosen by Park Bench, told the AFP news agency: "Rebuilding can now begin."
The new owners are due in commercial court on October 20 to ratify a new continuation plan, which now runs over 12 years, with the debt halved from 26 million euros to 13 million euros. The team is largely amateur, though the club is permitted five players on professional contracts, one of whom will be former Ligue 1 striker Baptiste Guillaume.
From champions to the sixth tier
The collapse caps a brutal five years. Bordeaux were relegated to Ligue 2 in 2022 and then placed under judicial restructuring in 2024, which forced them to relinquish their professional status and their highly rated academy. They have spent the last two seasons in the Championnat National 1, the fourth tier.
The fall is all the starker given the club's heritage. Bordeaux produced academy graduates Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, who played alongside Zidane in France's 1998 World Cup-winning team, while Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana were part of the celebrated midfield that won the 1984 European Championship. Zidane, who rose to prominence at the club, is now France's head coach.
Sources:
French giants Bordeaux relegated to sixth tier for financial irregularities - Al Jazeera
Bordeaux Confirmed In Sixth Tier Of French Football - NDTV Sports (AFP)
Bordeaux were punished for failing to provide the roughly 10 million euros ($11.6 million) needed for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years and to meet debt payments. Two days after appearing before the league's oversight commission, which approved the club's recovery budget and issued a positive opinion on its possible participation in Regional 1, the club was unanimously approved to play in the top regional tier.
A one-euro sale
Last month, Bordeaux were sold for a symbolic one euro to US-based investment group Park Bench, a data analytics and software company that agreed to take on the remaining debt. Dominique Delport, the new president chosen by Park Bench, told the AFP news agency: "Rebuilding can now begin."
The new owners are due in commercial court on October 20 to ratify a new continuation plan, which now runs over 12 years, with the debt halved from 26 million euros to 13 million euros. The team is largely amateur, though the club is permitted five players on professional contracts, one of whom will be former Ligue 1 striker Baptiste Guillaume.
From champions to the sixth tier
The collapse caps a brutal five years. Bordeaux were relegated to Ligue 2 in 2022 and then placed under judicial restructuring in 2024, which forced them to relinquish their professional status and their highly rated academy. They have spent the last two seasons in the Championnat National 1, the fourth tier.
The fall is all the starker given the club's heritage. Bordeaux produced academy graduates Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, who played alongside Zidane in France's 1998 World Cup-winning team, while Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana were part of the celebrated midfield that won the 1984 European Championship. Zidane, who rose to prominence at the club, is now France's head coach.
Sources:
French giants Bordeaux relegated to sixth tier for financial irregularities - Al Jazeera
Bordeaux Confirmed In Sixth Tier Of French Football - NDTV Sports (AFP)
