Speaking with L’Équipe, Jean-Marc Mickeler, the head of the DNCG (Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion), French football’s financial regulator, has assured that “there is no risk of bankruptcy” for the clubs of Ligue 1 this season, despite the Covid pandemic and the Mediapro broadcasting fiasco.
However, “we are asking ourselves questions” about certain clubs for next season, continued Mickeler. “We have to put 500 million euros back into the system, a third of which in the form of equity contributions from shareholders. There is therefore necessarily a risk” for those who do not have sufficient financing capacity, he explained.
Mickeler foresees net losses of “around 600 million euros” for the teams of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 for the current season. This figure is marginally better than the 645 million euros lost over the financial year. The slight improvement is partly thanks to the significant sales of the January transfer window, totalling 100 million euros.
“We are still on an operating deficit of around 1.2 billion euros for the current season. It’s considerable, ” said Mr. Mickeler.