Beginnings The club took its name
Girondins from the demonym for people from the
department of
Gironde, and was founded on 1 October 1881 as a
gymnastics and
shooting club. The club, chaired by André Chavois, later added sports such as
rowing,
equestrian, and
swimming, among others. It was not until 1910 when football was officially introduced to the club following strong urging from several members within the club, most notably club president Raymond Brard, though it was only available on a
trial basis. The experiment with football lasted only a year before returning almost a decade later in 1919. The club contested its first official match in 1920 defeating Section Burdigalienne 12–0. Bordeaux achieved professional status in football on 2 July 1936, partly due to the club's merger with fellow
Bordelais outfit Girondins Guyenne Sport, which resulted in the club that exists today. Bordeaux's rise to professionalism came about alongside the
French Football Federation's plea to increase professionalism in
French football, which prior to 1932, had been non-existent. The club was inserted into the
second division of French football and made its debut appearance during the 1937–38 season. The club's first manager was Spaniard
Benito Díaz. Diaz brought fellow Spanish players Santiago Urtizberea and Jaime Mancisidor to the team with the latter serving as
captain. The club's most prominent
Frenchmen on the team were homegrown
attacker Henri Arnaudeau and
goalkeeper André Gérard. Bordeaux played its first official match on 23 May 1937 defeating
Rhône-Alpes-based FC
Scionzier 2–1 at the
Stade de Colombes. The club's first ever league match was contested on 22 August losing away to
Toulouse 3–2. Bordeaux recorded its first league win against
Nîmes. Unfortunately for the club, the team finished 6th in the Southern region of the division. Bordeaux's disappointing finish inserted the club into the relegation playoff portion of the league where the team finished a respectable 3rd. A year later, Bordeaux moved into a new home, the
Stade Chaban-Delmas, which had previously been known as, simply Parc Lescure. The facility was built specifically for the
1938 FIFA World Cup and, following the competition's completion, was designated to Bordeaux. The club had formerly played its home matches at the Stade Galin, which today is used as a
training ground.
Return to prominence in the 1980s season , influential Bordeaux player in the '70s and '80s and the club's all-time top scorer. Under the helm of
Claude Bez, who injected millions into the club, Bordeaux flourished winning three league championships, two
Coupe de France titles, and also performed well in
European competitions, most notably reaching the European Cup semi-final in
1985. During Bez's run presiding over the team, he recruited several
French internationals such as
Bernard Lacombe,
Jean Tigana,
René Girard,
Jean-Christophe Thouvenel, and
Thierry Tusseau. Bez also brought in established manager
Aimé Jacquet. Led by 1970s mainstays Giresse and
Gernot Rohr, Bordeaux captured its first league championship since 1950 in the
1983–84 season finishing equal on points with
Monaco, however, due to having a better goal difference, Bordeaux were declared champions. The
next season, Bordeaux again won the league claiming the title by four points over second place
Nantes. In Europe, Bordeaux played in the
1984–85 European Cup and reached the semi-finals, defeating Spanish club
Athletic Bilbao, Romanian club
Dinamo București, and Soviet outfit
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk before losing to Italian club
Juventus. In the Coupe de France, Bordeaux finally achieved cup glory defeating Marseille 2–1 in the
1986 edition of the final with Tigana and Giresse recording both goals. The Coupe de France trophy was the club's first since 1941 after eight agonising attempts in finals. The
following year the club responded by winning the trophy again; in a re-match with Marseille, Bordeaux won its second consecutive cup courtesy of goals from
Philippe Fargeon and
Zlatko Vujović. Bordeaux then capped off the
1986–87 Division 1 season by winning its fourth league title and achieving the
double as well. Bordeaux ended the decade with a 13th-place finish in their
1989 league campaign.
Rising from the ashes in the 1990s Due to administrative problems, the club was relegated just two years thereafter. In
1992, however,
Les Girondins won that year's Division 2 title, thus being elevated to the top tier of French football. In the emergence of young and exciting players such as playmaker
Zinedine Zidane, striker
Christophe Dugarry and left back
Bixente Lizarazu, the club ascended even higher to win the
UEFA Intertoto Cup in
1995. With this talented trio, the club defeated
FC Rotor Volgograd (the 1995
King's Cup Winner),
Real Betis,
Milan and
Slavia Prague in the second, third, quarter- and semi-finals respectively to reach the
1996 UEFA Cup final where they were beaten by
Bayern Munich 5–1 on aggregate. Bordeaux witnessed further glory only three years later, winning their fifth French league title in the
1998–99 season with winger
Sylvain Wiltord winning the
Golden Boot of that season with 22 goals.
Into the 2000s During the 1999–2000 season, the club played in the new
UEFA Champions League for the first time. In two seasons time Bordeaux won another piece of silverware, beating
Lorient 3–0 in the
2002 Coupe de la Ligue final.
Le club au scapulaire then two seasons later defeated
Club Brugge 4–1 on aggregate in the fourth round to reach the
2004 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, where the club fell to
eventual winners Valencia. In 2013, Bordeaux won the Coupe de France defeating Evian 3–2 in the final. In the 2013–14 Ligue 1 season, Bordeaux finished 7th in the table. In 2015, Bordeaux appointed
Willy Sagnol but in 2016 Sagnol was terminated after only winning one match in the first eight games of the season and was replaced by
Ulrich Rame. On 27 May 2016, Rame was replaced by
Jocelyn Gourvennec. On 20 January 2018, Gourvennec was fired and was replaced by
Gus Poyet. Poyet guided Bordeaux to a 6th-placed finish at the end of the season. In July 2018, General American Capital Partners's CEO Joseph DaGrosa pursued the purchase of the French professional football team for €70 million after 19 years of
M6's ownership. On 18 August 2018, Poyet was suspended by Bordeaux after labelling the situation as "embarrassing" when
Gaëtan Laborde was sold to
Montpellier without his knowledge or consent. On 5 September 2018,
Ricardo Gomes was appointed as "General Manager" — he did not possess the necessary coaching badges to be officially appointed the first-team coach. The purchase of the club by General American Capital Partners would be completed in November 2018, before they sold their stake to majority shareholder King Street Capital in December 2019.
COVID-19 financial crisis On 23 April 2021, the club cited a decreased revenue due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. There was also the loss of income of
Mediapro, the TV rights holder who went bankrupt after missed payments the year prior. The club was placed in
administration when the American owners, King Street stated they would no longer support the club financially. On 22 June 2021, Girondins de Bordeaux announced that
Gérard López acquired the club. For the first time since the 1990–91 season, Bordeaux finished last in the
2021–22 Ligue 1 season and were relegated to the
Ligue 2. That was when the club were administratively relegated as a consequence of financial difficulties. On 14 June 2022, the
DNCG administratively relegated Bordeaux to the
Championnat National due to financial issues. The club confirmed it would appeal the decision, citing it as 'brutal'. On 27 July 2022, Bordeaux won its appeal and was officially reinstated in Ligue 2 for the
2022–23 season.
Financial administration At the end of the 2023–24 season, Bordeaux was again administratively relegated to the Championnat National. Although the club had initially appealed the decision, it later withdrew the appeal. On 25 July 2024, it was announced that the club informed the
French Football Federation that they would officially give up their status as a professional football club, with current player contracts being terminated and the team's training centre closing indefinitely. In a press release, the club stated that they would still be promoting their youth academies, and hoping they could play in the Championnat National next season and get back to Ligue 1 with "sound finances and a renewed ambition". Then, on 1 August 2024, due to bankruptcy, Bordeaux was forcibly relegated to the
Championnat National 2 and put into financial administration by the French football controlling body, the National Directorate of Management Control/DNCG (). ==Rivalries==