Potential Girondin buyers take over Bordeaux city hall

• While the mayor of Bordeaux is still waiting to meet the leaders of King Street, the latter have decided to put everything on standby by the time before the DNCG.
• In the absence of a response from the American investment fund, which is still not officially a seller, possible buyers have been knocking on the door of City Hall in recent times.
• Some have caught the attention of the municipality like Olivier Létang the former president of Stade Rennais.

It is a letter of a few lines but it is important when we know the situation of the Girondins. A letter headed by the King Street logo, the investment fund owner of Marine et Blanc and not that of the club. A not neutral detail. It is also signed by the hand of Daniel Ehrmann, director of management of the American company in charge of the Bordeaux file.

This letter the mayor of Bordeaux, Nicolas Florian (LR), claims to have received it "May 25 or 26" in response to his big rant about the current situation of the club and his request to meet with King Street . Its content must have seemed fairly familiar to him. Indeed, 20 Minutes was able to read it and the speech remains the same on the side of the owner of the Girondins:

• King Street will respect its commitments, in particular before the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG).
• The investment fund renews its confidence in Frédéric Longuépée (Club CEO)
• A new meeting with the municipality will be possible depending on the evolution of the Covid-19 epidemic

Girondins de Bordeaux: Nicolas Florian “demands accounts” to King Street, the owner of the club https://t.co/bvfRbJbbEc via @ 20minutesBord pic.twitter.com/OhYvvIpa51

But nobody is fooled in the corridors of the Palais Rohan, "it's just the official speech in this letter," slips a close to the mayor. In reality, the future of the club seems much more blurred in the short term and it is for this reason that this collaborator recalls that Nicolas Florian “wants to meet Brian Higgins (the billionaire co-founder of King Street) and not Frédéric Longuépée or Daniel Ehrmann for know what he really wants to do with the club. "

Everything is on stand-by until passing the DNCG

If at the operational level Frédéric Longuépée still holds the helm today with his right arm Antony Thiodet, who has never considered resigning, the American investment fund seems to be more and more worried about the situation in particular economic club. Indeed, the Girondins may have sold since July 1, 2019 for almost 60 million euros with the recent transfer of Paul Bernardoni to Angers (for only 7.5 million euros of purchase since the transfer of Rémi Oudin did not has not yet been paid), the deficit remains very large. According to information from 20 Minutes, Bordeaux leaders, who have stopped accounts, are preparing to appear before the DNCG with a deficit of around 42 million euros.

An expected figure but which has not prevented Daniel Ehrmann from expressing his nervousness with the club in recent weeks. In return, the investment fund will order in the next few days the management to "freeze everything" until the beginning or even mid-July with in sight the passage before the DNCG. Before the financial gendarme of French football, the owner will, as a year ago, vouch for the debts, however, a recapitalization of the club is, for the moment, excluded.

Girondins de Bordeaux: Finances, supporters, future… The club on the verge of implosion https://t.co/bKQHYZ3cDc via @ 20minutesBord pic.twitter.com/6PTnEc6hPH

At the sporting level, everything is therefore on stand-by. The transfer window in the direction of arrivals of course. The recruitment of the new technical director of the training center is now suspended, while some educators at the end of the contract still do not know what their future will be like.

Failing to return from King Street, some address the town hall

While waiting to learn more about the real intentions of King Street, rumors are rife about a possible new takeover of the Girondins de Bordeaux. In the absence of a formal denial from the investment fund, they even run very quickly through the streets of Bordeaux. Sometimes, up to the town hall of Bordeaux for the most well-founded. Today, the only candidate known publicly is Bruno Fievet, a business manager in love with the Girondins, but for the moment his case has received neither the attention of King Street nor that of the town hall: “Its financial surface is limited, it's good to want to rely on the local fabric but here at the moment everyone is looking above all to save their skin before considering investing in a football club. Hard to believe. He continues to build his file and says he is always ready to take up the torch even though the municipality has never responded to his requests.

Municipal in Bordeaux: How did the Girondins get involved in the electoral campaign? https://t.co/exRhb3VPZY via @ 20minutesBord pic.twitter.com/GYIh1z7OYu

According to our information, the mayor's teams are much more attentive to two other projects. The first leads to Olivier Létang, the former president of Stade Rennais. Revealed by the journalist Manu Lonjon, 20 Minutes can confirm that there is indeed an interest on his part for the Girondins as for Toulouse a few weeks ago. “Bordeaux is a great club in a magnificent region. There is a big potential but you know, it is approached by many clubs or investors. One thing is certain, he will choose his shareholders because he no longer wants to find himself in the same situation as in Rennes ”, explains one of his relatives. If the town hall already plans to meet him to exchange, there is to date no discussion started with King Street, "a shareholder that must be respected", according to this close.

Stade Rennais president Olivier Létang, here in September 2018. - C. Allain / 20 Minutes

Another possible buyer has recently knocked on Nicolas Florian's door in recent weeks. For the moment, there has been only one contact but the town hall hopes a lot. Why ? Because it is in particular a former manager who plays the role of intermediary: “It is a very serious but complex project. These people want to be discreet because it is the standard in the business especially when we are at such an embryonic stage, "explains a person familiar with the matter. Besides there too, there is for the moment not the least discussion with King Street. So be patient. But these approaches clearly show that if the club is going through a serious institutional crisis which tarnishes its image, it still attracts investors as much.

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