Paris, Feb 24 (AP) Bordeaux's mayor is doing his bit to help the city's struggling soccer club and welcomes the prospect of Oliver Kahn taking over.

Kahn was among the best goalkeepers in the world with Bayern Munich and Germany. He is in discussions to buy Bordeaux, a six-time French champion that has fallen all the way to French soccer's fourth tier with debts of 118 million euros ($124 million).

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Looking to move things forward, Kahn met last Friday with the city's mayor, Pierre Hurmic, and other local officials to present his takeover plan.

“There are confidential elements I can't reveal, but what I can say is that they seem serious, motivated and have the necessary funds. I am very sensitive to their offer," Hurmic told The Associated Press by telephone on Monday. "The fact they want to buy the club and the stadium seems to be a good omen, even more so because it seems to be getting (current president) Gérard Lopez to react. I read in the press that he might also make an offer to buy the stadium, which is completely new.”

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The club's severe debt, linked to the fact it doesn't own its own stadium — which is publicly owned — makes it difficult to attract investors.

Financial problems started a few years ago.

The pandemic and a collapsed television deal caused huge losses. After backer King Street pulled out, Lopez acquired Bordeaux in June 2021. The following season it finished last in Ligue 1 and was relegated.

After narrowly failing to win promotion back into the top tier, Bordeaux was then hit with a double relegation last season, sending it crashing to the fourth-tier National 2 league.

Failure to provide financial guarantees to French soccer's financial watchdog meant Bordeaux was placed into receivership by the city's commercial court, triggering the second relegation.

While that afforded some respite through a debt freeze, it also meant Bordeaux — affectionately known as “Les Girondons” — lost its professional status.

Bordeaux is meeting with its creditors again on March 18.

“They will be a bit like last-chance meetings,” said Hurmic, the mayor since July 2020. “We really need to move forward and Mr. Lopez will have to be very clear how he envisages Bordeaux's future.”

With only one promotion place available and Bordeaux in second spot in a tight race, missing out on reaching the third division could reignite problems off the field.

Disputes among supporters over how Bordeaux is run resulted in several clashes between the two main groups of ultras. Hurmic met representatives from both groups to help appease tensions, but he understands reservations about Lopez.

“He took over a club that was in the first division and we are currently in the fourth," Hurmic said. “I am due to meet with him very soon.”

Bordeaux also won four French cups, three League Cups and reached the 1996 UEFA Cup final with a team that included Zinedine Zidane and lost to a Bayern side with Kahn in goal.

Kahn is not the only potential suitor, Hurmic said, but he has the same message for anyone wanting to take over.

“Les Girondis are part of Bordeaux's heritage,” he said. “Bordeaux is not a financial product, it is an attachment to the city and its inhabitants.” (AP)

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