Gérard Lopez assure qu’il « aura » les fonds
The businessman mentions, “despite the savings” and the contribution of 30 million euros when buying the club (10 from his company Jogo Bonito via capital increase; 20 via loans to Fortress and King Street) , losses of “40 million euros and something” on June 30, except for the sale by then of players or the recovery of profit-sharing (20% of the capital gain) on the future transfers of Jules Koundé and Aurélien Tchouaméni. “This summer, we had offers for two players (Elis and Onana, editor’s note) for a total of 30 million euros,” he says.
“Through his holding company”
In any case, he will have to explain to the organization how he is going to finance these losses and prove that he has the means to cover, if necessary, the 20 to 30 million operating deficit of the projected budget of the next season. “We will do this by making contributions and adding commercial partnerships like all the clubs in France which are losing money,” said the president, who mentions contributions via his holding company. In the form of shareholder debt? “Not necessary,” he replies.
“If we go down, with King Street and Fortress, we will work together”
Gérard Lopez assures him: “he will have” the necessary funds and “we can start again” in L1 in the same structure as this season. In L2, with a sharp drop in income (TV rights, ticketing, sponsorship) and despite the parachute planned by the League, the situation will obviously be different.
The possible contributions “will be less important” and there will be “an economic reality which will be terrible for the club, with a necessary adjustment of the costs which passes by licensees, a restructuring, a very significant reduction in the number of employees and on the players big contracts – not the ones we brought in. A lot of things that are sad for a club like Bordeaux”. “But if we have to go through it, we will,” he continues, indicating that “every week on the phone” Fortress and King Street, a fund to which the club will have to repay 50 million euros in 2025. “They are like me: they don’t want us to go down and if that happens we’ll work together,” he says.