Leicester City were the model to follow for every aspiring football club around the world a decade ago.
Their fabulous story of defying record-breaking odds to win the Premier League is still regarded by many as the greatest footballing story of all time.
Everyone wanted the secret to the formula and with the Foxes on a high, their owners were looking to expand their empire and add another club to their portfolio.
Belgian Pro League outfit OH Leuven are one of Leicester’s sister clubs and with their stock high, they looked to add one of French football’s biggest names.
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Leicester City’s owners almost bought Bordeaux
Bordeaux are one of the biggest clubs in France but nowadays, they are a world away from their glory days.
Now in the fourth tier of French football after several financial issues, Bordeaux have won Ligue 1 six times and are one of the biggest clubs in the country.
At one stage, Leicester and Bordeaux were both challenging in Europe and had plenty of similarities, which attracted the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to the club.
Former Bordeaux president Nicolas de Tavernost even revealed during an RMC broadcast that Khun Vichai came very close to buying the club, but both sides’ European adventures blocked the deal, something De Tavernost regrets.
He said: “We should have sold to the owner of Leicester at the time. We agreed on everything.
“The deal ultimately fell through due to concerns about multi-club ownership and potential conflicts of interest in European competitions.”
Leicester City and Bordeaux have both had falls from grace
From both being at the peak of their powers in the late 2010s, Leicester and Bordeaux can only dream of playing European football right now.
Financial issues off the pitch have crippled both clubs and Leicester are facing a points deduction after allegedly breaching PSR rules.
They also have the ongoing case where the future of Ruud van Nistelrooy as Leicester manager remains uncertain.
Bordeaux meanwhile have had it even worse and after being relegated to Ligue 2 in 2022, announced two years later that they would have to give up their professional licence and now reside in the fourth tier of French football, where they have Andy Carroll among their ranks.