Liverpool owners FSG must pay up to €80m to bail out Bordeaux

Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group are locked in talks to purchase the beleaguered French giants Girondins de Bordeaux, who have been provisionally relegated to the third division.

The six-time Ligue 1 champions held talks with the DNCG - French football’s financial regulator - on Tuesday with the meeting also attended by FSG. 

The parties have been given two weeks to complete the takeover, which would see the team coached by former Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera reinstated to the second tier.

Former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards was brought back under the FSG umbrella earlier this year in a new CEO of Football role, officially taking up his post in June. 

Part of his remit will be to compete with Manchester City and Chelsea, who have implemented multi-club ownership models. 

“One of the biggest factors in my decision is the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club, growing this area of their organisation,” Edwards said in a statement upon his return. 

“I believe that to remain competitive, investment and expansion of the current football portfolio is necessary.”

FSG's Bordeaux cost swells to €80m

Given the current circumstances, it now looks like financially distressed Bordeaux will soon be joining Liverpool in the FSG stable. 

The Reds can expect to be able to place young players at Bordeaux if they fail to qualify for UK work permits and also utilise the club for loan deals. 

Bordeaux were severely affected by Covid-19 and ill-fated Mediapro television deal and were first placed in administration in 2021. 

According to the Athletic, it will cost €40 million to fund the team for the 2024-25 season and further payments are reportedly owed to ex-manager Vladimir Petkovic and other clubs as part of transfer dealings. 

All those costs, combined with unpaid rent and money owed to former lenders swells the total needed to complete a deal this summer to around €80m. 

Meanwhile, new Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has said that the Reds’ transfer business would be ‘opportunistic’ this summer. 

They are yet to complete a senior signing and walked away from a deal for Anthony Gordon owing to the asking price.