Gérard Lopez took over Mouscron in July 2020 -
Shutterstock / SIPA
The Belgian club, which plays the maintenance in the Belgian elite, is in financial difficulty.
Bought by Gérard Lopez in July, Mouscron has no more news from its president.
And the new leaders of Losc have decided to revise downwards the partnership agreement between the two clubs until June 30.
The transplant does not take.
While AS Monaco and Losc, who face each other on Sunday in Ligue 1 (5:05 p.m.), are fighting for the title of champion of France, the same cannot be said of their satellite clubs in Belgium.
Owned by Monaco, the Cercle Bruges (17th) is penultimate in the Jupiler League, a small point behind Excelsior Mouscron, which belongs to Lille and is dragging itself to 16th place four days from the end.
But if the principality's club has not (yet) planned to sever its partnership with Bruges, the story between Mouscron and Lille is coming to an end.
Since the takeover of Losc by the investment fund Melvyn Partners in December, the Belgian club, located fifteen kilometers from the capital of Flanders, is no longer the priority of the new leaders.
Moreover, Mouscron does not legally belong to Losc but to Gérard Lopez, the former president of Lille.
When he bought the Excelsior in July, the Spanish-Luxembourg businessman did so through a Luxembourg company called Jogo Bonito.
But since mid-December, Lopez, who is still officially president of the club, has not given any sign of life to Mouscron.
No sign of Lopez since mid-December
“When Lopez got kicked out of Losc, there was a board meeting the following week at the Excelsior.
From London where he was in videoconference, he then assured that he would continue to invest and fulfill his commitments as president of Mouscron.
But since then, it's been radio silence, ”says Julien Parczynski, journalist for the Belgian daily La Derniere Heure.
“We've never seen him, he's never met the supporters.
It's very weird.
There are many gray areas and misunderstandings, ”admits Clément, member of the Excel Boys, a group of supporters of Mouscron.
As for the promised financial commitments, they are no longer assumed.
To the point that the players and staff of the Belgian club did not receive their February salary.
The leaders of Mouscron recently announced that a million euros were missing from the club's coffers.
A sum they are claiming… at Losc in the name of a partnership agreement which runs until June 30, 2021.
Le Losc has revised the partnership agreement downwards
According to our information, this agreement, signed on July 23, 2020 between the two clubs, provided for a commitment of four million euros this season from Losc to Mouscron.
A sum intended in particular to pay all or part of the expenses of the six players loaned by the northern club without counting six other elements arrived from the reserve team.
Except that the current economic context (decline in sponsorship, closed stadiums, Mediapro fiasco…) has led the new Lille management to revise this commitment downwards.
A shortfall that Mouscron deplores but that Losc justifies by the low exposure of its players landed in Belgium.
And for good reason, out of the twelve elements from Lille, they are only three to have really marked the spirits.
Far, very far from the summer announcement effects.
"They behaved like colonialists"
“When Lopez became president of the club, we were promised that we were going to have good players.
But in fact, they sent us players who had just come down with the Losc reserve.
There, we said to ourselves that we were being made fun of.
They behaved like colonialists by underestimating the level of the Belgian championship.
Apart from the goalkeeper Koffi who is exceptional, Onana and Agouzoul, the others do not have the level.
We have the impression that we have been handed the B team from Losc.
It's really pitiful, ”criticizes Olivier Defranne, co-founder of the Excel News Facebook page which brings together the loyal supporters of the Excelsior.
“Lopez did not bring anything to Mouscron and Lille will not gain anything in this story.
It's a pretty crappy partnership.
We noted that a preference was given at the start of the season to players from Losc.
Result, we did not win a match in the first ten days.
I was just hoping that this season would allow us to regain serenity.
But this is absolutely not the case, ”regrets Thierry Van Weehaege, a great connoisseur and very influential supporter of Mouscron.
The club's survival is at stake
In sporting difficulty, in lack of cash economically, the future of the Belgian club is now posed.
Without financial guarantees, Mouscron could be refused the obtaining of the license, essential sesame to evolve / move in Jupiler League next season.
Only a buyer could come and save the condition on the condition of remaining in the elite.
"We would like to be bought by someone serious and not by investors from the other side of the world who have absolutely nothing to do and who only stay a year," Clément hopes.
Message sent to Gérard Lopez who continues to remain silent without giving any explanation for this great fiasco.
Sport
Coupe de France: The round of 16 between PSG and Lille advanced to March 17 ... at 2 p.m. (yes, yes)
Sport
Losc-OM: Jonathan David wears the costume of the Lille savior
Soccer
LOSC
Lille
Sport