This is only a first step, with new names perhaps without a future, in extra-sporting news which, with the race to climb to N1, will punctuate the next six months of the life of the Girondins. According to our information, supported by several sources, the former president of Olympique de Marseille Jacques-Henri Eyraud approached the owner of the Bordeaux club Gérard Lopez, last December, for initial information on the conditions of a possible recovery, positive enough to continue studying the file by contacting the Bordeaux town hall. The entrepreneur and investor, who left the McCourt group (owner of OM) in September 2023, acted representing former German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
Administrator then executive president for two seasons of Bayern Munich, the latter left his almost lifelong club (from 1994 to 2008 as a player, after having trained in Karlsruhe) in May 2023. Since then, Kahn has traveled to take the pulse of the world international Football in different countries – Saudi Arabia, United States, India – and confided last August, to the weekly “Kicker”, his desire to become the owner of a club. “Investing in football is different from investing in a screw manufacturer. Football is about culture, identity and community. If everything fits together, I can imagine it very well,” he explained.
The name of the Girondins, whom he faced in the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup in 1994 (with Karlsruhe) and in the final in 1996 (with Bayern), spoke to him and he showed himself open to leading an exploratory phase. The German would be the aggregator of the funds. Those around him emphasize that there is nothing more at this stage.
Lopez in hand
President Gérard Lopez has never hidden the fact that he is looking for an investor at his side. In the case of the Eyraud/Kahn duo, the interest is, according to our information, in taking control of the club and obviously its management.
Three paths are possible for a possible recovery of the Girondins, currently in receivership. The first, the only possible one at the moment T, is to find an agreement with the current owner for the repurchase of the shares after the renegotiation of current debts and with the obligation to finance a continuation plan.
The second would be to wait for a possible failure of a continuation plan presented to the Commercial Court by Gérard Lopez and the opening then by the instance of a transfer phase which would only concern the resumption of the brand and assets . The third would be after a judicial liquidation by reaching an agreement with the Girondins association, chaired by Jean-Louis Triaud. In the last two cases, it would very likely not be able to avoid a new sporting relegation, which could go as far as Regional 3.
In addition to Bruno Fiévet, who has publicly declared that he is working on a takeover of the stadium, or the “Still Girondins” group in the event of a fall, at least one other team of investors is in the active phase of contacting the file and seeking funds. In the entourage of the Spanish-Luxembourgish owner, there are regular expressions of interest but nothing concrete to date.
In the meantime, the leaders of the Girondins are preparing the hearing on January 21 at the Commercial Court. While the current observation period ends on January 31, they will request its renewal for an additional six months (until July 31) and will have to prove the sustainability of the company over this period (during which the debts will remain frozen), as well as their first projections on the negotiation of debts and the financing of a continuation.
