777 Partners removes Luiz Mello from command of SAF do Vasco and announces CEO

In crisis and flirting with the possibility of adding another relegation in the Brasileirão, a championship in which it occupies the last position, with nine points, the Basque had a change in command of his SAF this Tuesday.

777 Partners, the majority shareholder of the joint-stock company Vasco da Gama, announced that Luiz Mello was removed as CEO and replaced on an interim basis by Lucio Barbosa, CFO of SAF since 2022.

“I want to thank Luiz Mello for his efforts over the past two years, especially during the club’s transition to SAF. I also want to thank Lucio Barbosa, who will have the full support of our team of world-class professionals to lead the club’s evolution,” said Josh Wander, founder and managing partner of 777 Partners, in a statement released by the investment firm.

“Like everyone who cares deeply about Vasco da Gama, I want to see better results than we’ve seen so far this season. I would like to assure our amazing fans that everyone involved with the club is working hard every day to make them proud and I am confident that we will start to show better results soon.”

The company also informed that Luiz Mello started a transition process to assume an executive position, on August 1st, at 777 Football Group. In addition to Vasco, Genoa (Italy), Hertha Berlin (Germany), Standard de Liege (Belgium), Red Star (France), Sevilla (Spain) and Melbourne (Australia) belong to the group.

Mello was being harshly questioned at Vasco

Mello was in charge of CEO of Vasco since January 2021, under the management of president Jorge Salgado, before the club became SAF. In August of the same year, he led the transition to a public limited company following the approval of the SAF LEI. When the process was completed, 777 decided to leave him in charge.

As the club’s situation worsened, Mello became the target of questions. The fact that he was retained as CEO was pointed out as an ethical conflict, as he was the intermediary for the sale of SAF, but 777 never saw the situation that way. In addition, advisers accused the leader of lying when signing the term of office.

The document said that the position could not be occupied by someone linked to any club other than Vasco, and Mello had a Flamengo supporter plan in his name. At the time, in an interview with GE, he argued that the term refers only to management, decision-making or supervisory positions. He is also said to have been the victim of death threats.