Meeting with angry fans and car racing: The crazy weekend of Gerard Lopez

Gerard Lopez is currently in the headlines almost every day. The Luxembourg businessman again caused a sensation at the weekend. Because a few days after his Portuguese association Boavista FC turned off in the stadium because of unpaid bills of the electricity the fans of Girondin’s Bordeaux came up with Lopez.

In the 1-0 win against La Roche Vendée, the followers protested on Saturday with banners against the owner. On Sunday, according to « Sud Ouest » there is said to have been a meeting between the fan group « Ultramarines Bordeaux », Lopez, Vice President Arnaud de Carli and General Director Arnaud Saint-André.

In the « sometimes very violent but correct and well -prepared » conversation, four demands were made: not to repeat the same mistakes in salary policy and to focus on the commitment of players with experience in French football and in National 2. In addition, a deputy chairman is to be appointed and the door is to be opened for a sale if the offer and the project are better than what the current owner can do.

As the French daily newspaper reports, Lopez is said to agree with the first two points, asked the third time at the time of reflection and referred to the fourth that the decision about a possible sale was with him. Most recently, Bayern legend Oliver Kahn had publicly expressed interest. Lopez reported talks, but made it clear that he did not want to sell the club.

50 million euros

However, Lopez runs the time with a view to the appointment at the insolvency court, after all, the liabilities should amount to around 50 million euros. The renovation plan must be presented by May 27th. In addition, the traditional club has little chance of climbing. Three game days before the end, the gap to league leaders Saint-Brieuc is eight points despite the recent success. Only the master rises directly.

And while the Bordeaux fans were annoyed by the owner on Saturday during the game, Lopez was sitting in the racing car. At the Grand Prix de France Historique, he triumphed on the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet together with the Swiss Marcel Fässler in Category C of the Masters in front of McLaren CEO ZAK Brown and ex-formula 1 pilot Daniil Kvyat.

It is known that Lopez not only has a passion for football, but also for fast cars. He already took part in long-distance races and bought 75 percent of the shares of the Formula 1 racing team Renault in 2009. The remaining 25 percent followed a year later and the cooperation with Lotus. In 2015, 90 percent of the highly indebted racing team was sold again to Renault.

Now the football fans fear that Lopez will also be unsuccessful with his projects in Bordeaux and Porto.