Red lantern of Ligue 1, the Girondins de Bordeaux face PSG at the Parc des Princes this Sunday (1 p.m.).
Gérard Lopez tried this week to reassure his world as rumors about the club's future in the event of relegation are rife.
On the program, a small media tour and some important meetings with the supporters and the town hall.
It's a costume he knows (unfortunately) well this season but which suits him perfectly.
Gérard Lopez, owner and president of the Girondins de Bordeaux, resumed his service fireman's cap for a few days to try to extinguish the major fire underway in his club.
And this time he had to go with the big ladder and his spear, not just with a few buckets of water like this fall.
The flames are now much more virulent since the defeat against Troyes (0-2) last weekend.
Before moving this Sunday (1 p.m.) to Paris, the Marine et Blanc are indeed more than ever good last in this Ligue 1 with only 11 days to go from the end of the season.
Why do the Girondins have a good relegated head today?
via @20minutesSport https://t.co/kkQRKHgafJ
– 20 Minutes Sport (@20minutesSport) March 7, 2022
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So when the wind particularly stirs the fire this season, firefighter Lopez arrives in an emergency.
This is at least one thing that we can never blame the Hispano-Luxembourg businessman, he assumes (him) his responsibilities.
Not so long ago, others were hiding under their desks in the middle of a fire at the Château du Haillan.
A certain FL for connoisseurs.
Often absent in recent weeks despite the club's sporting situation, Gérard Lopez arrived on the banks of the Garonne on Wednesday to take things in hand with two objectives: to remobilize the troops and above all to reassure everyone about the future of the club in particular. in case of demotion at the end of the season.
Communicated and reassured at all costs...
First milestone of this operation, communicate.
The former president of Losc excels in the field.
Of a very zen and positive nature, he is not afraid of microphones.
As of last Sunday, one of his relatives set the tone: "We will assume in this difficult period".
This Thursday, the boss therefore made a small media tour,
Sud Ouest
and France Bleu opened their doors to him.
And in case journalists don't do their job enough, aren't pungent enough and because playing the proximity card is always well appreciated, he answered readers and listeners directly for long minutes.
During these interviews, Gérard Lopez repeated the same thing each time.
Sportingly, he is convinced that the Girondins will not go down (hoping that his players are too).
And financially?
"If Bordeaux goes to L2, I will not leave," he thundered.
Personally, Gérard Lopez therefore confirms his desire not to leave the ship even in the middle of a storm.
But today the question is not really there, it is above all whether the club will be able to return to L2 or much lower in the event of relegation.
Until now, there were two scenarios on the table: maintaining L1 or filing for bankruptcy.
Thomas Jacquemier, the general manager of the club, had even publicly mentioned it last January.
Today, if the management has finally become aware of a possible demotion since the defeat against Troyes, it has not yet "budgeted" this hypothesis as asserted by the boss of the Girondins.
But be careful, it can't be long… “We will have to see if there is a small chance of saving the club to go to Ligue 2”,
slips a close friend of the Bordeaux leader.
Meanwhile, Gérard Lopez prepares the ground by adding that it would go through "a huge cut in operating costs" with a "very significant reduction in the number of employees, on players with big contracts - not those we brought in”.
Brunet and Hurmic had their date
This reassuring speech (or not), the Hispano-Luxembourger also repeated it to two other important men in the world of the Girondins: Florian Brunet and Pierre Hurmic.
The first, spokesperson for the Ultramarines (the largest group of Bordeaux supporters), met Gérard Lopez on Thursday.
In this period, it is indeed essential for the businessman that the South Turn stays by his side even if the UB87 want to regain a little of their “independence” at the end of the season according to one of their members.
Gérard Lopez wanted to be reassuring during this meeting, evoking the possible arrival of new investors, and for the moment the Ultramarines will not let him go.
On the other hand, the attitude of the latter is likely to change vis-à-vis the players: “The limit has been crossed for many supporters who were convinced that the team was going to beat Troyes.
So, regardless of the instructions (from the leaders), the turn will be much more vindictive, ”explains a VS supporter.
This change in tone was endorsed at a meeting of the Ultramarines this week and the players could have a first visit this Saturday morning during training to shake them up… And apparently, Gérard Lopez did not object.
Pierre Hurmic, the mayor of Bordeaux, finally got his appointment with the president of the Girondins.
He had been asking for it for weeks.
The ecologist was able to exchange Friday morning with Gérard Lopez.
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Girondins de Bordeaux: "It is the brothers of the players who play", plague Gérard Lopez
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Bordeaux-Troyes: Why do the Girondins have a good relegated head?
Gerard Lopez
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PSG
Girondins of Bordeaux
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