A staff of 18 people, annual salaries of up to 350,000 euros
A few years later, the number 818 stood out once again. Badly this time, with crazy buyers. It was already a recovery that brought the first problems. It is January 2022. Van De Weghe managed to make his baby a professional entity by reaching the D1B, two years earlier. Without great means, he finds himself confronted with his limits. What future when we are located halfway between Ghent and Waregem and the city does not even have 50,000 inhabitants?
No prospects exist if there are no new investors. And this is not what is lacking in our second division, so popular with foreign groups due to its ease of buying a club in our kingdom. ACA Football Partners, a Singapore investment firm, is jumping at the opportunity. The objective? The rise to the Jupiler Pro League within two years, whatever the cost. The Orange and Black change dimension. The new leaders implement their promises and do not skimp on the financial resources made available to their new toy.
“It was crazytells us an employee who logically prefers to remain anonymous. Akihisa Izuka, a Japanese, led the club as CEO but the sporting aspect was governed by the Spaniard Adrián Espárraga, who arrived as sporting director in February 2022. Salaries have soared. You can’t even imagine. He brought back two Spanish players who received more than 20,000 euros per month. This summer, he concluded the arrival of Losada as coach for an annual salary of 350,000 euros. Then he left in the following days for Al-Nassr.”
His departure coincided with the fed up of ACA, the proprietary investment fund, which came to Belgium to carry out an audit. The decision was drastic. They decided to turn off the tap. Tired of the money wasted for a year and a half without the increase objective being achieved. “Last season, there was a bloated staff of 18 members. With 3 assistants, 3 physical trainers and 2 team managers, there was not enough room on the bench to seat everyoneexplains our interlocutor. The worst was the nutritionist who came from Spain two days a week. He also benefited from an apartment and a car with fuel paid for by the club in addition to his comfortable salary.
Players paid more since August
With astronomical debts estimated at least at several million euros last July, Deinze is in a state of brain death, so much so that ACA is willing to leave the club for a symbolic euro. The transfer window proves it. There is no more money. Except for Zakaria Fdaouch whose payment has not been made to Dijon, the East Flanders club only attracts free players. From August, salaries are no longer paid.
“At that time, many people within the club, including physical therapists and fitness trainers, had already not been paid for some time. A few weeks later, the fitness trainers left the club due to unpaid salaries, and the remaining staff did their best to continue working without them, explained the players in a press release published last week. Despite these difficult circumstances, we continued to work and play as if we were getting paid. We had no breakfast before training, no fitness trainers.“
Subsequently, the situation deteriorated further. On September 30, CEO Akihisa Iizuka resigned. “On October 1, all fuel cards were blocked, and a week later many of us had to return our cars, pursue the players. This meant we weren’t even traveling for free anymore – we had to pay to play for the club. Some of us even had to come to the club by train or bus. In addition, the apartments provided by the club to the players had to be paid for out of our own pocket, which added further financial pressure.”
gullSome of us even had to come to the club by train or bus.
A company created one week before the takeover
The employees believed in a miracle when a so-called investment fund AAD Invest Group, represented by the nebulous Doudou Cissé, took over the club unofficially on October 11 and officially since November 6. By digging into the subject, it appears that the address of the AAD Invest Groupe headquarters is a simple mailbox in Luxembourg. And that the company was created…. a week before the takeover of the club. “To date, we have not received a single euro from the new owner, and we have no proof that payments will be made in the coming days.”concludes the players’ press release.
The appointment of Céline Mawet, 28 years old and until now responsible for… communications at Deinze (see elsewhere), was the first and surely last decision of AAD Invest. With that of appointing Franck Villani, sports director. Frank who? An unknown person, who works in the construction industry. So many strange decisions which pushed Romain Molina, the independent French journalist, to describe this takeover as “the worst of the year 2024″.
This would almost make you smile if the jobs and lives of several dozen people were not in danger. In the coming hours, Deinze will cease to exist among the pros. With an ending that we would like to never see again.
