Sawt Falasteen - Tony Parker's French club 'not viable', auditing body says

It has been in the red for three out of five financial reporting periods, despite injections of money from its shareholders and 3.3 million euros ($3.7 million) in state aid received during the Covid pandemic, the regional CRC accounting oversight body said.

While few clubs in France's top-tier Pro A League turn a profit, ASVEL Basket, located in the Villeurbanne suburb of Lyon, has "the worst" financial position of all of them, it said.

When Parker in 2014 bought the renowned team -- French champions a record 21 times -- he had plans to make it into one of the greatest in Europe, the CRC noted in its report covering ASVEL Basket's 2018-2023 financial performance.

He purchased costly players, pushing the payroll to 4.2 million euros in 2022-2023 -- but revenues did not rise to cover that.

The club was "structurally loss-making" and "appears to be not viable over the long-term", the CRC report said.

It found itself in a "risky" situation after landing two sponsors that turned out not to have the financial heft to make good on promises to improve its finances, the report said.

In March, Parker told the regional newspaper Le Progres that he had to dip into his own fortune to pay some of the club's debts. His net worth is unknown, but he earned $168 million over his time as a professional NBA player in the United States.

The Frenchman spent 2001-18 playing for the San Antonio Spurs, winning four NBA championships. Parker retired in 2019 after a final season with the Charlotte Hornets.

W.Mansour--SF-PST