Bordeaux has been sold to U.S.-based investment fund Park Bench for a symbolic €1, with the buyer assuming debts of nearly €18 million. The transaction ends Gerard Lopez’s five-year ownership of the 2008-09 Ligue 1 winners, who have fallen from France’s top division to Regional 1, the country’s sixth tier. Park Bench is owned by American Evan Sofer and Briton James Bord, and already holds shares in Spanish second-division club Cordoba and a majority stake in Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. Bordeaux has entered administration twice since 2021 and spent the past two seasons in Championnat National 1, the fourth tier, after relegations imposed by the DNCG (French professional-club financial regulator). The Regional Management Control Commission of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Football League must approve the sale and Bordeaux’s 2026-27 budget. The Bordeaux Commercial Court must also approve the plan for the club to avoid liquidation.