Bordeaux lost its professional status when it was relegated to the third tier of French football.
Bordeaux said in a club statement on Thursday night that they had filed for bankruptcy to avoid “heavy sanctions” due to their continuing financial difficulties.
Bordeaux has informed the French Football Federation (FFF) of its intention to give up its professional status, which it has held for 87 years, after being relegated to Championnat National, the third level of the French football pyramid.
The Championnat National is a mix of professional and non-professional clubs and Bordeaux will not take up the exemption option that would allow them to maintain their professional status for two years if they do not remain in the top two divisions.
In 2010, Bordeaux had won the Ligue 1 title the previous season (the club’s sixth French title in history) and had reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich at home and away in the group stage and earning four points from their two games against Juventus.
Bordeaux, who finished 12th in Ligue 2 last season, boast one of the biggest fan bases in France with former players such as Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry, Jean Tigana and Aurélien Chouamenie in their roster.
Bordeaux has one of the biggest fanbases in France. (Thibault Moritz/AFP via Getty Images)
Earlier this month, the National Financial Control Authority (DNCG), the body that oversees the finances of French football clubs, announced it would relegate Bordeaux from the French second division to the third division for failing to provide financial guarantees ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Further demotions are possible if further financial guarantees are not provided.
Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), were in negotiations to buy the club from Gerard Lopez, which would have kept Liverpool in the second division, but the talks did not go ahead.
Lopez bought the club in the summer of 2021 after the club collapsed under previous owners, American King Street, and was relegated to League Two in 2022.
(Frank Fife/AFP via Getty Images)