Gerard Lopez also made Boavista fail

“Certain things only happen in Italy”, is the refrain, often correct but decidedly overused, that is sung when something in our football system is not going as it should. The reality is that the whole world is the same. There is no other explanation for the incredible story of Gerard Lopez, a Spanish-Luxembourgish entrepreneur who has just become the cover face of the collapse of Boavista, that is to say the only Portuguese club capable of inserting itself into the dominance of the Porto-Sporting-Benfica trio from 1947 to today , thanks to the national title won in 2001 with a decidedly working-class team but illuminated by the talent of Erwin Sanchez, a Bolivian attacking midfielder nicknamed, because of his class, Platini.

For some time now, the air around Boavista's financial situation has not been the best: from the news of unpaid bills for the sports center to those reporting an unusable stadium, also due to a failure to pay 7 million euros to the company that had taken care of the renovation of the facility. Months in which Lopez remained essentially silent until the turning point of the last few days, the final explosion of a fuse lit in 2021, the year in which Lopez had acquired two-thirds of the club's shares. In addition to the relegation to the second division, the problem of some deadlines missed in a dramatic manner was added. Local newspapers reported the existence of a deep deficit in the accounts and the delay of a transfer of a relatively small amount (2.5 million euros) that risks blowing up the club, which over the years has accumulated debts of much higher dimensions. In the meantime, these 2.5 million were needed to guarantee registration by Wednesday, but they did not arrive.

So far, it would be a story of ordinary mismanagement. If it were not for the fact that Lopez, in his curriculum, has already reported another failure of epochal proportions, that of Bordeaux, a fallen noble of French football that is still struggling with the debts left by his management . An exposure that involves every type of creditor: from a famous hotel chain to the company that deals with the collection of statistical data, from the clubs that have not collected the agreed upon transfer of the players' registration rights to transport companies, stations, radio stations, law firms and, apparently, even winemakers and bakeries in the area, in addition to the debts towards Bordeaux Métropole, the entity that deals with the city government and the hinterland.

Boavista is under a seven million euro seizure granted by a Portuguese court to the company that restructured Bessa-XXI, the registration of players has been blocked by FIFA for at least three sessions and president Faye, who has no economic power, has found himself faced with a fait accompli. He was working to build the team with which to face the second division, but it seems that the club does not even have the requirements to register for the third. In short, the situation can only get worse. Here's hoping that Lopez has finished his very particular European tour.

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