French football is on the brink of bankruptcy, according to the head of financial control

French teams have traditionally turned to transfers to balance their scores, but the pandemic has left teams from other major leagues with far less money to invest in transfers.

French football clubs are in a serious economic situation due to the pandemic, with operating losses of 1,400 million euros last season, which raises concerns about bankruptcies of entities, he points out. L’Equipe the person in charge of the financial control of this sport.

Those losses are in addition to the red numbers of 1.2 billion from the previous season, he adds. Jean-Marc Mickeler, president of the National Management Control Directorate (DGCC), in an interview published today by the sports newspaper.

These losses are broken down mainly in television rights (400 million) and transfers (300 million), in addition to subscriptions and tickets and sponsorships, he details.

The result is that the teams have an accumulated debt that exceeds one billion euros, more than double than two years ago, adds Mickelar, who warns that “the worst is yet to come”.

It warns that if the 330 million agreed with Channel + for the retransmission of two games per day they will not arrive (there are problems with the payment channel) and the fall in equity continues, “It cannot be excluded that there are bankruptcies.”

Explain that there are shareholders who have come “at the end of his ability to plug the holes” clubs cheap.

A historic French football player, the Girondins de Bordeaux, has been saved from bankruptcy for the time being, after the agreement for the takeover by the previous owner of Lille, the businessman GĂ©rard Lopez.

However, the DGCC president stresses that Bordeaux, and most other football clubs in the country, must undergo major surgery to transform their business model.

“The teams must reduce their salary bill”, affirms, and remember that seven first division teams have more than 40 players under contract, something that “Has no sense”.

French teams have traditionally turned to transfers to balance their scores, but the pandemic has left teams in other major leagues with far less money to invest in transfers.