The HISTORIC French club that will play in the THIRD DIVISION next season

It's one of the biggest clubs in France, and now they will play in the third division. While it's not uncommon for football clubs to go bankrupt, it's rare for big and storied clubs to go through the process. However, financial mishandling can bring down even the proudest of giants and this seems to be the case for former Ligue1 champions Girondins Bordeaux.

The French giant, who finished dead-last in France's top league this season, will be relegated twice in the space of a single season, as the DNCG (National Directorate of Management Control), the organization that keeps in check the accounts of professional association football clubs in France, has determined that the club does not fulfil  the economic and financial requirements to compete in Ligue 2, France's second most important league.

This comes as the result of owner Gérard López terrible mismanagement of the club's assets. The situation is even worse than it looks, as the club currently holds debts of up to 52 million euros, meaning that should they not fix their situation soon, the club could be up for filing bankrupcy and having their remaining assets liquidated to pay investors.

The decision, which was announced on June 14th, was under appeal, but the club failed to prove they had the capacity to meet aforementioned requirements, so they will go down another division.

Girondins Bordeaux is a historic club in French football, having won the French league in six ocassions, most recently in 2008-09, with the likes of Yoann Gourcuff, Fernando Cavenaghi and Marouane Chamakh in their squad, all under the guidance of Laurent Blanc. One of their most famous teams was the 1995-96 team, which reached the UEFA Cup final with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry and Bixente Lizarazu in their side, all of which would go on to be World Champions with France in 1998.

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